CR 

113 

HI8h 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 


UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


PHILADELPHIA, 

LIPPINCOTT,     G  R  A  M  B  0      a    CO. 
1853. 


HISTORY 


THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 


UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


BY 

SCHUYLER   HAMILTON, 

CAPTAIN  BY  BREVET  U.  8.  A. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

LIPPIXCOTT,   GRAMBO,   AND    CO. 

1852. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1852,  by 
LIPPIXCOTT,  GRAMBO,  AND  CO., 

in  the  Office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States 
in  and  for  the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

T.  K.  AND  P.  G.  COLLINS,  PRINTERS. 


C/f 


THIS   RESEARCH 

AS  TO 

THE  ORICIX  AND  MEAXIXC  OF  THE  DEVICES  COMBINED 
IX 

lje  Rational  /Ing  nf  tjjr  Bnitri  Itatrs  of  Jlratrirn, 

13  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED  TO 

MAJOR-GENERAL  WINFIELD  SCOTT, 

AS  .V 
SLIGHT  THIin'TE  OF  RESPECT  FOR  HIS    DISTIXC.UISHED  SERVICES, 

AND 

AS  A  MARK  OF  PERSONAL  (!1!  ATITfDE, 
BT 

HIS   FRIEND   AND   AIDE-DE-CAMP, 

SCHUYLER  HAMILTON, 

Captain  by  Brevet,  U.  S.  A. 


860?^ 


!*   I 


PllEFACE. 


As  nearly  as  we  can  learn,  the  only  origin  which 
has  been  suggested  for  the  devices  combined  in  the 
national  colors  of  our  country  is,  that  they  were 
adopted  from  the  coat  of  arms  of  General  Washing- 
ton. This  imputed  origin  is  not  such  as  would  be 
consonant  with  the  known  modesty  of  Washington, 
or  the  spirit  of  the  times  in  which  the  flag  was 
adopted.  We  have,  therefore,  been  at  some  pains 
to  collect  authentic  statements  in  reference  to  our 
national  colors,  and  with  these,  have  introduced 
letters  exhibiting  the  temper  of  those  times,  step  by 
step,  with  the  changes  made  in  the  flag,  so  com- 
bining them  as  to  form  a  chain  of  proof,  which,  we 
think,  must  be  conclusive. 

Should,  however,  the  perusal  of  the  following 
account  of  the  origin  and  meaning  of  the  devices  in 
the  national  flag  of  our  country,  serve  no  other  pur- 
pose than  that  of  impressing  more  strongly  upon  the 
mind  of  the  reader  the  importance  and  the  promi- 


Vlll  PREPACK. 

ucncc  those  who  achieved  our  liberties  and  founded 
our  government  attached  to  the  idea  of  Union,  its 
preparation  will  not  have  been  a  futile  labor. 

Emblems  and  devices,  adopted  under  high  excite- 
ment of  the  public  mind,  are  chosen  as  epitomes  of 
the  sentiments  prevailing  at  the  time  of  their  adop- 
tion. Those  of  the  days  of  our  Revolution  afford 
proofs  far  more  striking  than  the  most  elaborate  argu- 
ments, that,  in  the  estimation  of  our  forefathers, 
Union,  and  existence  as  a  nation,  were  inseparable. 

The  prosecution  of  our  subject  has  made  it  neces- 
sary for  us  to  dwell  upon  those  devices,  and  to  de- 
velop those  proofs. 


INTRODUCTION. 


As  a  not  uninteresting  introduction  to  our  re- 
search, we  will  glance  at  the  history  of  standards, 
from  their  inception  to  the  present  time.  We  shall 
find  that  man's  faculty  of  imitation  has  here,  as  else- 
where, found  employment,  modified  in  its  operation 
by  some  cause  peculiar  to  the  nation  whose  standard 
chances  to  be  under  consideration. 

Fosbroke,  in  his  Dictionary  of  Antiquities,  has  fur- 
nished us  with  most  of  the  information  on  this  sub- 
ject which  is  pertinent  to  our  design.  We  shall  add 
such  comments  as  will  tend  to  illustrate  our  conclu- 
sions. Under  the  head  of  standards,  he  writes : — 

"  The  invention  began  among- the  Egyptians,  who 
bore  an  animal  at  the  end  of  a  spear ;  but  among  the 
Graeco-Egyptians,  the  standards  either  resemble,  at 
top,  a  round-headed  knife,  or  an  expanded  semicir- 
cular fan.  Among  the  earlier  Greeks,  it  was  a  piece 
of  armor  at  the  end  of  a  spear  ;  though  Agamemnon, 
2 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

in  Homer,  uses  a  purple  veil  to  rally  his  men.  &c. 
Afterwards,  the  Athenians  bore  the  olive  and  owl ; 
the  other  nations  the  effigies  of  their  tutelary  gods, 
or  their  particular  symbols,  at  the  end  of  a  spear. 
The  Corinthians  carried  a  pegasus,  the  Messenians 
their  initial  o,  and  the  Lacedaemonians,  A  5  the  Per- 
sians, a  golden  eagle  at  the  end  of  a  spear,  fixed  upon 
a  carriage;  the  ancient  Gauls,  an  animal,  chiefly  a 
bull,  lion,  and  bear.  Sir  S.  R.  Meyrick  gives  the 
following  account  of  the  Roman  standards.  'Each 
century,  or  at  least  each  maniple  of  troops,  had  its 
proper  standard,  and  standard-bearer.  This  was  ori- 
ginally merely  a  bundle  of  hay  on  the  top  of  a  pole; 
afterwards,  a  spear  with  a  crosspiece  of  wood  on  the 
top ;  sometimes  the  figure  of  a  hand  above,  proba- 
bly in  allusion  to  the  word  manipulus ;  and  below,  a 
small  round  or  oval  shield,  generally  of  silver  or  of 
gold.  On  this  metal  plate  were  anciently  represented 
the  warlike  deities  Mars  or  Minerva;  but  after  the 
extinction  of  the  commonwealth,  the  effigies  of  the 
emperors  or  their  favorites.  It  was  on  this  account 
that  the  standards  were  called  numina  legionum, 
and  held  in  religious  veneration.  The  standards  of 
different  divisions  had  certain  letters  inscribed  on 
them,  to  distinguish  the  one  from  the  other.  The 
standard  of  a  legion,  according  to  Dio,  was  a  silver 
eagle,  with  expanded  wings,  on  the  top  of  a  spear, 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

sometimes  holding  a  thunderbolt  in  its  claws ;  hence 
the  word  aquila  was  used  to  signify  a  legion.  The 
place  for  this  standard  was  near  the  general,  almost 
in  the  centre.  Before  the  time  of  Marius,  figures  of 
other  animals  were  used,  and  it  was  then  carried  in 
front  of  the  first  maniple  of  the  triarii.  The  vexil- 
lum,  or  flag  of  the  cavalry  (that  of  the  infantry  being 
called  signum;  an  eagle  on  a  thunderbolt,  within  a 
wreath,  in  Meyrick,  pi.  6,  fig.  15),  was,  according  to 
Livy,  a  square  piece  of  cloth,  fixed  to  a  crossbar  on 
the  end  of  a  spear.  The  labarum,  borrowed  by  the 
Greek  emperors  from  the  Celtic  tribes,  by  whom  it 
was  called  llab,  was  similar  to  this,  but  with  the 
monogram  of  Christ  worked  upon  it.  Thus  Sir  S.  R. 
Meyrick.  The  dragon,  which  served  for  an  ensign 
to  barbarous  nations,  was  adopted  by  the  Romans, 
probably  from  the  mixture  of  auxiliaries  with  the 
legions.  At  first,  the  dragon,  as  the  general  ensign 
of  the  barbarians,  was  used  as  a  trophy  by  the 
Romans,  after  Trajan's  conquest  of  the  Dacians. 
The  dragons  were  embroidered  in  cotton,  or  silk  and 
purple.  The  head  was  of  metal,  and  they  were  fast- 
ened on  the  tops  of  spears,  gilt  and  tasselled,  open- 
ing the  mouth  wide,  which  made  their  long  tails, 
painted  with  different  colors,  float  in  the  wind.  They 
are  seen  on  the  Trajan  column  and  the  arch  of  Titus, 
and  are  engraved.  The  draconarii,  or  ensigns,  who 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

carried  them,  were  distinguished  by  a  gold  collar. 
From  the  Romans,  says  Du  Cange,  it  came  to  the 
Western  Empire,  and  -was  long,  in  England,  the  chief 
standard  of  our  kings,  and  of  the  dukes  of  Normandy. 
Matthew  Paris  notes  its  being  borne  in  wars  which 
portended  destruction  to  the  enemy.  It  was  pitched 
near  the  royal  tent,  on  the  right  of  the  other  stand- 
ards, where  the  guard  was  kept.  Stowe  adds,  that 
the  dragon-standard  was  never  used  but  when  it  was 
an  absolute  intention  to  fight ;  and  a  golden  dragon 
was  fixed,  that  the  weary  and  wounded  might  repair 
thither,  as  to  a  castle,  or  place  of  the  greatest  secu- 
rity. Thus  far  for  the  dragon-standard.  To  return, 
Vigetius  mentions  pinnse,  perhaps  aigrettes  of  feath- 
ers, of  different  colors,  intended  for  signals,  rallying- 
points,  &c.  Animals,  fixed  upon  plinths,  with  holes 
through  them,  are  often  found.  They  were  ensigns 
intended  to  be  placed  upon  the  ends  of  spears. 

"  Count  Caylus  has  published  several ;  among 
others  two  leopards,  male  and  female.  Ensigns  upon 
colonial  coins,  if  accompanied  with  the  name  of  the 
legion,  but  not  otherwise,  show  that  the  colony  was 
founded  by  the  veterans  of  that  legion.  There  were 
also  standards  called  pila,  or  t ufa,  consisting  of  buck- 
lers heaped  one  above  the  other. 

"  The  ancient  Franks  bore  the  tiger,  wolf,  &c., 
but  soon  adopted  the  eagle  from  the  Romans.  In 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

the  second  race,  they  used  the  cross,  images  of  saints, 
&c.  The  fleur-de-lis  was  the  distinctive  attribute  of 
the  king. 

"  Ossian  mentions  the  standard  of  the  kings  and 
chiefs  of  clans,  and  says  that  it  (the  king's)  was  blue 
studded  with  gold.  This  is  not  improbable,  for  the 
Anglo-Saxon  ensign  was  very  grand.  It  had  on  it 
the  white  horse,  as  the  Danish  was  distinguished  by 
the  raven.  They  were,  however,  differently  formed 
from  the  modern,  being  parallelograms,  fringed,  and 
borne,  sometimes  at  least,  upon  a  stand  with  four 
wheels.  A  standard  upon  a  car  was,  we  have  already 
seen,  usual  with  the  ancient  Persians.  Sir  S.  R. 
Meyrick  admits  that  it  was  of  Asiatic  origin,  first 
adopted  by  the  Italians,  and  introduced  here  in  the 
reign  of  Stephen.  That  of  Stephen  is  fixed  by  the 
middle  upon  a  staff,  topped  by  a  cross  pattee  (wider 
at  the  ends  than  in  the  middle),  has  a  cross  pattee 
itself  on  one  wing,  and  three  small  branches  shooting 
out  from  each  flag.  It  appears  from  Drayton,  that 
the  main  standard  of  Henry  V.  at  the  battle  of  Agin- 
court  was  borne  upon  a  car ;  and  the  reason  which 
he  assigns  is,  that  it  was  too  heavy  to  be  carried 
otherwise.  Sir  S.  R.  Meyrick  adds,  that  it  preceded 
the  royal  presence.  Edward  I.  had  the  arms  of 
England,  St.  George,  St.  Edmond,  and  St.  Edward, 
on  his  standards.  The  flag  or  banner  in  the  hands 

2* 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

of  princes,  upon  seals,  denotes  sovereign  power,  and 
was  assumed  by  many  lords  in  the  twelfth  and  thir- 
teenth centuries." 

We  observe  that  the  invention  of  standards  is 
ascribed  to  the  Egyptians.  Layard,  in  "Nineveh, 
and  its  Remains,"  says  of  the  standards  of  the  Assy- 
rians : — 

"  Standards  were  carried  by  the  charioteers.  In 
the  sculptures,  they  have  only  two  devices :  one,  a 
figure  (probably  that  of  the  divinity)  standing  on  a 
bull,  and  drawing  a  bow  ;  the  other,  two  bulls  running 
in  opposite  directions,"  probably,  as  is  stated  in  a 
note,  the  symbols  of  war  and  peace. 

"  These  figures  are  inclosed  in  a  circle,  and  fixed 
to  the  end  of  a  long  staff  ornamented  with  streamers 
and  tassels."  Here  we  see  the  early  use  of  pendants 
as  emblems  of  supreme  authority.  In  our  own  day, 

we  frequently  hear,  Commodore 's  broad  pendant 

was  hoisted  on  the  ship .  In  Queen  Anne's 

time,  on  the  union  of  England  and  Scotland,  we  find 
the  use  of  pendants  by  the  ships  of  her  subjects,  ex- 
pressly prohibited  in  the  following  words  :  " Nor  any 
kind  of  pendants  wJiatsocver,  or  any  other  ensign 
than  the  ensign  described  in  the  side  or  margent 
hereof,  which  shall  be  worn  instead  of  the  ensign 
before  this  time  [1707]  usually  worn  in  merchant 
vessels."  In  reference  to  the  flags  of  the  national 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

vessels,  the  following  language  is  used  :  "  Our  flags, 
jacks,  and  pendants,  which,  according  to  ancient 
usage,  have  been  appointed  to  a  distinction  for  our 
ships."  Every  one  will  ohserve  the  distinction  made 
in  the  case  of  the  pendants,  which  were  absolutely 
prohibited  to  the  subjects.  We  return  now  to  the 
consideration  of  the  standards  of  the  Assyrians. 
"The  standards  seem  to  have  been  partly  supported 
by  a  rest  in  front  of  the  chariot,  and  a  long  rod  or 
rope  connected  them  with  the  extremity  of  the  pole. 
In  a  bas-relief  of  Khorsabad,  this  rod  is  attached  to 
the  top  of  the  standard."* 

The  reader  will  have  observed  what  Fosbroke  says 
of  the  introduction  into  England  of  a  standard  borne 
on  a  car,  that  it  was  in  imitation  of  the  eastern  na- 
tions. In  the  case  of  the  Romans,  the  force  of  this 
habit  was  even  more  strikingly  illustrated.  They  at 
first  used  a  bundle  of  hay  or  straw;  as  they  extended 
their  conquests  over  the  neighboring  colonists  from 
Greece,  and  doubtless  from  Egypt,  they  assumed 
the  wolf  and  other  animals.  The  wolf,  perhaps,  re- 
ferred to  the  foster-mother  of  Romulus.  As  they 
extended  their  conquests  further,  they  borrowed  the 
custom  of  the  Greeks,  of  placing  a  shield  with  the 

*  "  Standards,  somewhat  similar  to  those  represented  on  the 
Assyrian  bas-reliefs,  were  in  use  in  Egypt.  Some  sacred  animal 
or  emblem  was  also  generally  placed  upon  them." 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

image  of  a  warlike  deity  upon  it  on  a  spear,  still, 
however,  retaining  the  reference  to  the  manipulus 
in  the  hand,  above  it. 

In  the  time  of  Marius,  they  adopted  the  eagle 
with  the  thunderbolt  in  its  claws,  the  emblem  of 
Jove.  We  are  also  told  that  different  divisions  had 
certain  letters,  frequently  the  name  of  the  com- 
mander, inscribed  on  their  standards.  This  practice 
was  also  introduced  among  the  Romans  from  Greece. 
It  was  introduced  among  the  Grecians  by  Alexander 
the  Great,  who  observed  it  among  the  Persians  and 
other  eastern  nations.  Intoxicated  with  his  triumphs, 
when  he  began  to  claim  for  himself  a  divine  origin, 
he  caused  a  standard  to  be  prepared,  inscribed  with 
the  title  of  "  Son  of  Ammon,"  and  planted  it  near 
the  image  of  Hercules,  which,  as  that  of  his  tutelary 
deity,  was  the  ensign  of  the  Grecian  host.  In  the 
same  way,  the  Franks  borrowed  the  eagle  from  the 
Romans. 

The  same  holds  good  of  the  dragon-standard, 
which,  borrowed  from  the  Dacians  and  other  bar- 
barians, was  for  a  long  time  the  standard  of  the 
Western  Empire,  of  England,  and  of  Normandy. 

After  the  Crusades,  however,  the  cross  seems  to 
have  taken  a  prominent  place  on  the  standards  and 
banners  of  European  nations. 

The  double-headed  eagle  of  Russia  and  Austria 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

originated  among  the  Romans,  to  indicate  the  sove- 
reignty of  the  world.  When  the  empire  of  the 
Caesars  was  divided  into  the  Western  and  Eastern 
Empires,  this  standard  continued  to  be  used  in  both 
those  divisions.  From  the  Eastern  Empire  it  passed 
into  the  standard  of  Russia,  on  the  marriage  of  Ivan 
I.  with  a  Grecian  princess.  From  the  Western,  with 
the  title  of  Roman  Emperor,  it  passed  to  Austria. 

From  the  above,  we  cannot  fail  to  perceive,  in  the 
past  as  well  as  in  the  present,  the  tendency,  through- 
out the  world,  to  imitation,  in  the  adoption  of  national 
ensigns;  also,  that  the  adoption  of  a  particular  en- 
sign marked  some  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  par- 
ticular nation  which  adopted  it. 

Thus  the  various  changes  in  the  Roman  standard 
marked  the  epochs  of  their  conquest,  first  of  the 
Greeks,  then  of  the  Barbarians.  The  adoption  of  the 
eagle  by  the  Franks,  their  conquest  of  the  Romans. 
The  cross,  the  era  of  the  Crusades.  The  double- 
headed  eagle  of  Russia,  the  marriage  of  the  Czar  to 
the  heiress  of  the  Eastern  Empire.  That  of  Austria, 
the  investiture  of  the  emperors  of  Germany  with  the 
title  of  Roman  Emperor.  The  present  union  of  the 
crosses  of  St.  George,  St.  Andrew,  and  St.  Patrick, 
in  the  British  ensign,  reverting  to  the  Crusades,  in 
the  members  composing  it,  more  directly  refers  to 
the  union,  first,  of  England  and  Scotland  into  the 


22  IXTRODUCT10X. 

united  kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  and  more  recently, 
to  the  union  of  the  kingdoms  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  and  hence  is  called  The  Great  Union. 

The  eagle  of  France,  marked  her  republican  era. 

Having  thus  observed,  in  the  adoption  of  ensigns 
by  the  principal  nations  of  the  world,  the  prevalence 
of  certain  general  rules,  viz.:  A  reference  to  their 
deity;  the  habit  of  imitating  the  ensigns  of  nations 
from  which  they  sprung,  or  which  they  conquered; 
the  custom  of  marking,  by  their  standards,  some 
epoch  in  their  history;  or  these  customs  in  combina- 
tion, may  we  not  expect  to  find,  in  the  adoption  of 
our  National  Ensign,  that  it  is  not  wholly  an  excep- 
tion to  these  general  rules  ? 


THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 


UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


ADOPTING  these  general  principles,  we  find  our- 
selves, in  attempting  to  give  a  satisfactory  account 
of  the  origin,  adoption,  and  meaning  of  the  devices 
embodied  in  the  National  Flag  of  the  United  States, 
obliged  to  describe  the  principal  flags  displayed  dur- 
ing the  Revolution,  which  resulted  in  the  independ- 
ence of  those  States ;  to  give  some  account  of  the 
flags  used  by  the  colonists  prior  to  that  Revolution  ; 
and  to  notice,  though  in  a  cursory  manner,  the  na- 
tional flag  of  the  mother  country. 

To  facilitate  the  consideration  of  our  subject,  we 
shall  arrange  the  flags,  mention  of  which  we  have 
met  with,  as  displayed  during  our  Revolution,  in  a 
table,  chronologically;  and  shall  number  them,  ac- 
cording to  the  date  of  the  notice  of  them,  1,  2,  3,  4, 
&c.,  beginning  in  1774. 

In  this  Table,  we  shall  give  their   distinguishing 


24  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

devices;   noticing  them,  when   necessary,   more   at 
length  as  we  proceed. 

TABLE  OF  THE  ABOVE  FLAGS. 

1.  "  Union  Flags."* — These  flags  are  very  fre- 
quently mentioned  in  the  newspapers,  in  1774,  but 
no  account  is  given  of  the  devices  upon  them.     To 
establish  these  devices,  will  be  one  of  the  principal 
objects  of  this  inquiry. 

2.  The  standard  of  the  Connecticut  troops. — A 
letter,  dated  "Wethersfield,   Connecticut,    April  23, 
1775,  says:  "We  fix  upon  our  standards  and  drums 
the  colony  arms,  with  the  motto,  '  Qui  transtulit  sus- 
tinety   round  it,  in  letters  of  gold,  which  we  construe 
thus:  '  God,  who  transplanted  us  hither,  will  support 
us.'  "f  The  standards  of  the  different  regiments  were 
distinguished  by  their  color.     Act  of  Provincial  Con- 
gress of  Connecticut,  July  1,  1775 :  "  One  standard 
for  each  regiment  to  be  distinguished  by  their  color,  as 
folloivs,  viz. :  for  the  seventh,  blue;  for  the  eighth, 
orange.''^ 

3.  The  flag  unfurled  by  General  Israel  Putnam, 
on  Prospect  Hill,  July  18,  1775,  which  is  thus  de- 
scribed in  a  letter,  dated 

*  Siege  of  Boston,  Frothingham,  p.  104,  note. 
f  American  Archives,   1th  scries,  vol.  ii.  p.  303. 
J  Ibid.  p. 


PL  I. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  25 

"  CAMBRIDGE,  July  21,  1775. 

"  Last  Saturday,  July  15,  the  several  regiments 
quartered  in  this  town  being  assembled  upon  the 
parade,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Langdon,  President  of  the  Col- 
lege, read  to  them  '  A  Declaration,  by  the  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  Colonies  of  North  America 
now  met  in  General  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  set- 
ting forth  the  causes  and  necessity  of  taking  up 
arms.'  It  was  received  with  great  applause;  and  the 
approbation  of  the  army,  with  that  of  a  great  num- 
ber of  other  people,  was  immediately  announced  by 
three  huzzas.  His  Excellency,  the  General,  with 
several  other  general  officers,  &c.,  were  present  on 
the  occasion." 

"  Last  Tuesday  morning,  July  18,  according  to 
orders  issued  the  day  before  by  Major-General  Put- 
nam, all  the  continental  troops  under  his  immediate 
command  assembled  at  Prospect  Hill,  when  the  De- 
claration of  the  Continental  Congress  was  read ; 
after  which,  an  animated  and  pathetic  address  to  the 
army  was  made  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Leonard,  chaplain 
to  General  Putnam's  regiment,  and  succeeded  by  a 
pertinent  prayer,  when  General  Putnam  gave  the 
signal,  and  the  whole  army  shouted  their  loud  amen 
by  three  cheers ;  immediately  upon  which  a  cannon 
was  fired  from  the  fort,  and  the  standard  lately  sent 
to  General  Putnam  was  exhibited,  flourishing  in  the 
3 


26  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

air,  bearing  this  motto ;  on  one  side,  '  An  Appeal  to 
Heaven,'  and,  on  the  other  side,  '  Qui  transtulit 
sustinet.' 

"  The  whole  was  conducted  with  the  utmost  de- 
cency, good  order,  and  regularity,  and  the  universal 
acceptance  of  all  present;  and  the  Philistines,  on 
Bunker's  Hill,  heard  the  shout  of  the  Israelites,* 
and,  being  very  fearful,  paraded  themselves  in  battle 
array,  "f 

This  flag  bore  on  it  the  motto  of  Connecticut, 
"  Qui  transtulit  sustinet,"  and  the  motto,  "An  Ap- 
peal to  Heaven;"  the  latter  of  which  is  evidently 
adopted  from  the  closing  paragraph  of  the  "  Address 
of  the  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts,  to  their 
brethren  in  Great  Britain,"  written  shortly  after  the 
battle  of  Lexington,  which  ended  thus :  '  Appealing 
to  Heaven  for  the  justice  of  our  cause,  we  determine 
to  die  or  be  free ;'  and  which  motto,  under  the  form 
'  Appeal  to  Heaven,'  combined  with  a  pine-tree, 
constituted  the  motto  and  device  on  the  colors  of  the 
Massachusetts  colonial  cruisers.  In  this  combination 
of  the  mottoes  of  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts,  one 
can  scarcely  fail  to  perceive  the  germ  of  the  emblem 
of  union  which  was  introduced  into  the  flag,  which, 

*  General  Putnam  was  named  Israel. 

f  American  Archives,  4th  series,  vol.  ii.  p.  1687. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  27 

January  2, 1776,  replaced  the  flag  we  have  described 
above,  on  Prospect  Hill. 

From  the  following  notice  of  the  flag  displayed  by 
General  Putnam,  July  18,  1775,  we  learn  that  it  was 
a  red  flag.  Before,  however,  giving  the  notice,  we 
will  state  that,  as  early  as  the  time  of  the  Romans,  a 
red  flag  was  the  signal  of  defiance  or  battle ;  thus, 
we  are  told :  "  When  a  general,  after  having  con- 
sulted the  auspices,  had  determined  to  lead  forth  his 
troops  against  the  enemy,  a  red  flag  was  displayed 
on  a  spear  from  the  top  of  the  Prsetorium,*  which 
was  the  signal  to  prepare  for  battle. "f  This  accords 
with  the  account  given  of  the  display  of  the  above 
flag,  and  corroborates  the  fact  mentioned  in  the 
following  extract  from  a  letter  of  a  captain  of  an 
English  transport  to  his  owners  in  London : — 

"  BOSTON,  Jan.  17,  1776. 

"  I  can  see  the  rebels'  camp  very  plain,  whose 
colors,  a  little  while  ago,  were  entirely  red ;  but,  on 
the  receipt  of  the  king's  speech  (which  they  burnt), 
they  have  hoisted  the  Union  Flag,  which  is  here  sup- 
posed to  intimate  the  union  of  the  provinces."!  He 

*  The  General's  tent. 

f  Adams's  Roman  Antiquities,  p.  322. 

J  American  Archives,  4th  series,  vol.  iv.  p.  711. 


28  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

probably  could  not  perceive  the  mottoes  referred  to 
in  the  preceding  letter,  owing  to  the  distance. 

4.  The  flag  used  at  the  taking  of  Fort  Johnston, 
on  James's  Island,  September  13,  1775. — "  Colonel 
Moultrie,  September  13  [1775],  received  an  order 
from  the  Council  of  Safety  for  taking  Fort  Johnston, 
on  James's  Island."  [S.  C.]  "  A  flag  being  thought 
necessary  for  the  purpose  of  signals,  Colonel  Moul- 
trie, who  was  requested  by  the  Council  of  Safety  to 
procure  one,  had  a  large  blue  flag  made,  with  a 
crescent  in  one  corner,  to  be  in  uniform  with  the 
troops.  This  was  the  first  American  flag  displayed 
in  South  Carolina."* 

Of  the  crescent,  we  have  the  following  interesting 
account : — 

"As  is  well  known,  the  crescent,  or,  as  it  is  usually 
designated,  the  crescent  montant,  has  become  the 
symbol  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  which  has  thence  been 
frequently  styled  the  Empire  of  the  Crescent.  This 
symbol,  however,  did  not  originate  with  the  Turks. 
Long  before  their  conquest  of  Constantinople,  the 
crescent  had  been  used  as  emblematic  of  sovereignty, 
as  may  be  seen  from  the  still-existing  medals  struck 
in  honor  of  Augustus,  Trajan,  and  others ;  and  it 
formed  from  all  antiquity  the  symbol  of  Byzantium. 

*  Holmcs's  Annals,  vol.  ii.  p.  227. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  29 

On  the  overthrow  of  this  empire  by  Mohammed  II., 
the  Turks,  regarding  the  crescent,  which  everywhere 
met  their  eye,  as  a  good  omen,  adopted  it  as  their 
chief  bearing."*  It  was,  doubtless,  "  as  the  emblem 
of  sovereignty,"  that  it  was  adopted  by  Colonel 
Moultric. 

5.  The  flag  of  the  floating  batteries. — Colonel 
Joseph  Reed  to  Colonel  Glover  and  Stephen  Moylan, 
says:  "Head-quarters,  October  20,  1775:  Please 
to  fix  upon  some  particular  color  for  a  flag,  and  a 
signal  by  which  our  vessels  may  know  one  another. 
What  do  you  think  of  a  flag  with  a  white  ground,  a 
tree  in  the  middle,  the  motto,  'Appeal  to  Heaven?' 
This  is  the  flag  of  our  floating  batteries."f 

G.  The  flag  called  The  Great  Union  Flag,  hoisted 
January  2,  1776,  the  day  which  gave  being  to  the 
new  army. — General  Washington's  letter  of  Janu- 
ary 4,  1776,  to  Joseph  Reed.f  This  flag,  which  we 
shall  designate  in  this  way,  was  the  basis  of  our 
National  Flag  of  the  present  day. 

7.  The  flag  presented  by  Colonel  Gadsden,  a 
member  of  the  Naval  Committee  of  the  Continental 
Congress,  to  the  Provincial  Congress  of  South 
Carolina,  February  9,  1776,  as  the  standard  to  be 

*  Brando's  Dictionary  of  Literature,  &c.     Crescent. 
f  American  Archives,  4th  series,  vol.  Hi.  p.  1126. 
J  Ibid.  vol.  iv.  p.  570. 

3* 


30  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

used  by  the  Commander-in-chief  of  the  American 
Navy,  "  being  a  yellow  field,  with  a  lively  represent- 
ation of  a  rattlesnake  in  the  middle,  in  the  attitude 
of  going  to  strike ;  and  the  words  underneath, 
"Don't  tread  on  me."* 

8.  The  flag  of  the  cruisers  of  the  colony  of  Mas- 
sachusetts.— "And  the  colors  to  be  a  white  flag  with 
a  green  pine-tree,  and  an  inscription,  '  Appeal   to 
Heaven.'  " — Resolution  of  Massachusetts  Provincial 
Congress,  April  29,  1776.| 

9.  The  National  Flag  of  the  United  States,  "  The 
Stars  and  Stripes,"  adopted  as  such  by  a  Resolution 
of  Congress,    passed   June   14,   1777. — "  Resolved, 
That  the  flag  of  the  Thirteen  United  States  be  thir- 
teen stripes,  alternate  red  and  white  ;  that  the  Union 
be  thirteen  stars,  white,  in  a  blue  field,  representing 
a  new  constellation. "| 

This  Resolution,  though  passed  June  14,  1777, 
•was  not  made  public  until  September  3,  1777.  || 

"With  this  Table  before  us,  we  shall  proceed  to  con- 
sider certain  badges  intimately  connected  with  the 
devices  on  the  national  flag  of  England,  afterwards 
embodied  in  the  national  flag  of  Great  Britain,  a 

*  American  Archives,  4th  series,  vol.  v.  p.  568. 

f  Ibid.  vol.  v.  p.  1299. 

J  Journal  of  Congress,  vol.  ii.  p.  165. 

||  Boston  Gazette  and  Country  Journal,  Sept.  1  ">,  1777. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  31 

modification  of  which  we  shall  show  was,  for  a  time, 
the  flag  of  the  United  States,  and  the  basis  of  the 
"Stars  and  Stripes." 

"  In  the  first  crusade,  the  Scots,  according  to 
Sir  George  Mackenzie,  were  distinguished  by  the 
Cross  of  St.  Andrew;  the  French,  by  a  white  cross; 
and  the  Italians,  by  a  blue  one.  The  Spaniards, 
according  to  Columbiere,  bore  a  red  cross,  which,  in 
the  third  crusade  (A.  D.  1189),  was  appropriated  by 
the  French,  the  Flemings  using  a  green  cross,  and 
the  English  a  white  one.  The  adherents  of  Simon 
Montfort,  the  rebellious  earl  of  Leicester,  assumed 
the  latter  as  their  distinguishing  mark,  thus  making 
the  national  cognizance  the  badge  of  a  faction. 

"  The  cross  of  St.  George  has  been  the  badge, 
both  of  our  kings  and  the  nation,  at  least  from  the 
time  of  Edward  III.  Its  use  was  for  a  while  nearly 
superseded  by  the  roses,  but  revived  upon  the  termi- 
nation of  the  wars  between  the  rival  houses.  It  still 
continues  to  adorn  the  banner  of  England."* 

Of  the  arms  and  banner  of  St.  George,  we  have 
the  following  account :  "  Saynte  George,  whyche  had 
whyte  arms  with  a  red  cross."  (Fig.  1,  Plate  I.) 

"  This  blessed  and  holy  martyr  Saynte  George  is 

*  Parker.     Terms  used  in  British  Heraldry,  p.  40. 


32  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

patrone  of  the  realme  of  England ;  and  ye  crye  of 
men  of  warre."* 

"With  reference  to  the  cross  of  St.  George,  Sir 
N.  II.  Nicholas  observes :  *  That  in  the  fourteenth  and 
subsequent  centuries,  even  if  the  custom  did  not  pre- 
vail at  a  much  earlier  period,  every  English  soldier 
•was  distinguished  by  wearing  that  simple  and  ele- 
gant badge  over  his  armor.' 

"  The  following  extract,"  he  adds,  "  from  the 
ordinances  made  for  the  government  of  the  army 
with  which  Richard  II.  invaded  Scotland  in  1386, 
and  which  were  also  adopted  by  Henry  V.,  will  best 
show  the  regulations  on  the  subject. 

"  Also,  that  everi  man  of  what  estate,  condition,  or 
nation  thei  be  of,  so  that  he  be  of  oure  partie,  bere  a 
signe  of  the  armes  of  Saint  George,  large,  both 
before  and  behynde,  upon  parell  that  yf  he  be 
slayne  or  wounded  to  deth,  he  that  hath  so  done  to 
him  shall  not  be  put  to  deth,  for  default  of  the  cross 
that  he  lacketh.  And  that  non  enemy  do  bere  the 
same  token  or  cross  of  St.  George,  notwithstanding 
if  he  be  prisoner,  upon  payne  of  deth." 

"  The  banner  of  St.  George  is  white,  charged  with 
the  red  cross,  "f 

*  Parker.     Terms  used  in  British  Heraldry,  p.  148. 
f  Ibid.  p.  149. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  33 

"  Banner.  A  banner  is  a  square  flag  painted  or 
embroidered  with  arms,  and  of  a  size  proportioned  to 
the  rank  of  the  bearer."* — See  the  Banner  of  St. 
George,  Fig.  2.  Plate  I. 

We  now  come  to  the  description  of  the  arms  and 
banner  of  Saint  Andrew.  The  cross  of  St.  Andrew 
is  called  a  saltire,  and  is  thus  described : — 

"  Saltire,  or  saltier.  This  honorable  ordinary  pro- 
bably represents  the  cross  whereon  St.  Andrew  was 
crucified. "f 

"  Andrew,  S.,  the  Apostle  :  the  patron  saint  of 
Scotland. 

"  The  arms  attributed  to  him,  and  emblazoned  on 
the  banner  bearing  his  name,  are  azure,  a  saltire 
argent."| — See  Fig.  3,  Plate  I.,  Arms  of  Saint 
Andrew  ;  and  for  the  banner  of  Saint  Andrew,  Fig. 
4,  Plate  I. 

"  Union  Jack:  the  national  flag  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland. 

"  The  ancient  national  flag  of  England  was  the 
banner  of  St.  George  (argent,  a  cross  gules),  to 
which  the  banner  of  St.  Andrew  (azure,  a  saltire 
argent),  was  united  (instead  of  being  quartered, 
according  to  ancient  custom),  in  pursuance  of  a  royal 

*  Parker.     Terms  used  in  British  Heraldry,  p.  42. 
f  Ibid.  p.  273. 
%  Ibid.  p.  9. 


34  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

proclamation,  dated  April  12,  1606.  An  extract 
from  this  proclamation  follows  : — 

"  Whereas,  some  difference  hath  arisen  between 
our  subjects  of  South  and  North  Britain,  travelling 
by  seas,  about  the  bearing  of  their  flags :  for  the 
avoiding  of  all  such  contentions  hereafter,  we  have, 
with  the  advice  of  our  council,  ordered,  that  hence- 
forth all  our  subjects  of  this  Isle  and  kingdom  of 
Great  Britain,  and  the  members  thereof,  shall  bear 
in  their  maintop  the  red  cross,  commonly  called  St. 
George's  Cross,  and  the  white  cross,  commonly  called 
St.  Andrew's  Cross,  joined  together,  according  to  a 
form  made  by  our  heralds,  and  sent  by  us  to  our 
admiral,  to  be  published  to  our  said  subjects  ;  and  in 
their  foretop  our  subjects  of  South  Britain  shall 
wear  the  red  cross  only,  as  they  were  wont ;  and  the 
subjects  of  North  Britain,  in  their  foretop,  the  white 
cross  only,  as  they  were  accustomed."* 

The  union  of  the  crosses  described  above  may 
naturally  be  called  the  king's  colors,  though  in  fact, 
as  James  was  king  both  of  Scotland  and  England, 
the  national  flags  of  either  of  those  kingdoms  would 
also  be  the  king's  colors,  in  an  extended  sense ;  but 
would  be  likely  to  be  designated  as  the  red  or  white 
crosses,  or  the  crosses  of  St.  George  or  St.  Andrew, 

*  Parker.     Terms  used  in  British  Heraldry,  p.  315. 


OP  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  35 

•while  this  form  prepared  by  the  heralds,  and  only 
prescribed  for  "  subjects  travelling  by  seas,"  would 
be  by  those  subjects  called,  par  excellence,  the  king's 
colors. 

"There  is,"  says  Sir  N.  H.  Nicholas,  "every 
reason  to  believe  that  the  flag  arranged  by  the  her- 
alds on  this  occasion  was  the  same  as,  on  the  union 
with  Scotland  [1707],  became  the  national  banner." 
It  may  be  emblazoned  azure,  a  saltire  argent  sur- 
mounted by  a  cross  gules,  edged  of  the  second.  (See 
Fig.  5,  Plate  I.)  The  white  edging  was  no  doubt 
intended  to  prevent  one  color  from  being  placed  upon 
another ;  but  this  precaution  was,  to  say  the  least, 
unnecessary  ;  for  surely  no  heraldic  rule  would  have 
been  broken,  if  the  red  cross  had  been  placed  upon 
the  white  saltire.  The  contact  of  the  red  cross  and 
blue  field  would  have  been  authorized  by  numerous 
precedents.  This  combination  was  constituted  the 
national  flag  of  Great  Britain  by  a  royal  proclama- 
tion, issued  July  28,  1707."* 

"  No  further   change  was  made  until  the   union 

*  Note  by  AUTHOR.— This  white  edging  would,  however,  show 
the  union  of  the  two  flags,  which  otherwise  might  not  have  been 
apparent.  We  are  told,  in  De  Foe's  History  of  the  Union,  that  great 
jealousy  for  the  ancient  banners  of  their  respective  kingdoms,  was 
shown  both  by  Scots  and  English. 


36  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

•with  Ireland,  January  1,  1801,  previous  to  which 
instructions  were  given  to  combine  the  banner  of  St. 
Patrick  (argent,  a  saltire  gules)  with  the  crosses  of 
St.  George  and  St.  Andrew.  In  obedience  to  these 
instructions,  the  present  National  Flag  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  was  produced."* — See  Fig.  6, 
Plate  I. 

We  would  observe  that,  as  this  last  form  of  the 
union  was  only  adopted  in  1801,  which  was  the  first 
time  that  a  change  was  made  in  the  flags  proscribed 
in  1707,  it  is  only  of  interest  as  completing  the  ac- 
count of  the  Union  Jack. 

"  The  word  Jack  is  most  probably  derived  from 
the  surcoat,  charged  with  a  red  cross,  anciently  used 
by  the  English  soldiery.  This  appears  to  have  been 
called  a  jacque,  whence  the  word  jacket,  anciently 
written  j  acquit."* 

We  desire  to  impress  this  last  remark  upon  the 
mind  of  the  reader,  as,  in  the  course  of  our  inquiry, 
we  shall  meet  more  than  once  with  allusions  to  the 
"Jack,"  the  "  St.  George's  Jack,"  &c.,  and  to  invite 
special  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  badge  on  the 
clothes  of  the  soldiery  furnished  a  badge  to  the  flag 
of  their  country.  Thus  the  cross  of  St.  Andrew,  worn 
by  the  Scots,  was  emblazoned  on  the  banner  of  Scot- 

*  Parker.     Terms  used  in  British  Heraldry,  pp.  315-16. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  37 

land,  and  the  cross  of  St.  George,  worn  by  the  Eng- 
lish soldiery,  was  emblazoned  on  the  banner  of 
England. 

This  last,  the  national  flag  of  England,  the  lied 
Cross  flag,  has  now,  for  us,  especial  interest. 

A  singular  circumstance  furnishes  us  with  proof 
that  this  lied  Cross  flag  was  in  use  in  the  colonies. 
We  find  in  the  "  Journal  of  John  Winthrop,  Esq.,  the 
first  governor  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,'' 
the  following  memoranda  in  reference  to  it : — 

"Anno  1G34,  November  5.]  At  the  Court  of  As- 
sistants, complaint  was  made  by  one  of  the  country 
(viz.,  Richard  Brown,  of  Watertown,  in  the  name  of 
the  rest),  that  the  ensign  at  Salem  was  defaced,  viz.  : 
one  part  of  the  red  cross  taken  out.  Upon  this,  an 
attachment  was  issued  against  Richard  Davenport, 
ensign-bearer,  to  appear  at  the  next  court  to  answer. 
Much  matter  was  made  of  this,  as  fearing  it  would 
be  taken  as  an  act  of  rebellion,  or  of  like  high  nature, 
in  defacing  the  king's  colors;"  [i.  e.  the  Banner  of 
St.  George ;]  "  though  the  truth  were,  it  was  done 
upon  this  opinion,  that  the  red  cross  was  given  to 
the  King  of  England,  by  the  pope,  as  an  ensign  of 
victory,  and  so  a  superstitious  thing,  and  a  relic 
of  antichrist.  What  proceeding  was  hereupon,  will 
appear  after,  at  next  court  in  the  first  month ;  for 
4 


38  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

by  reason  of  the  great  snows  and  frosts,  we  used  not 
to  keep  courts  in  the  three  winter  months."* 

"  Anno  1635,  mo.  1,  4.]  A  General  Court  at 
Newtown." 

"  Mr.  Endecott  was  called  to  answer  for  defacing 
the  cross  in  the  ensign ;  but,  because  the  court  could 
not  agree  about  the  thing,  whether  the  ensigns  should 
be  laid  by,  in  regard  that  many  refused  to  follow 
them,  the  whole  case  was  deferred  till  the  next  gene- 
ral court ;  and  the  commissioners  for  military  affairs 
gave  order,  in  the  mean  time,  that  all  ensigns  should 
be  laid  aside,"  &c.f 

"Anno  1635,  mo.  3,  6.]  A  General  Court  was 
held  at  Newtown,  where  John  Haynes,  Esq.,  was 
chosen  governor  ;  Richard  Bellingham,  Esq.,  deputy 
governor  ;  and  Mr.  Hough,  and  Mr.  Dummer,  chosen 
assistants  to  the  former ;  and  Mr.  Ludlow,  the  late 
deputy,  left  out  of  the  magistracy.  The  reason  was, 
partly,  because  the  people  would  exercise  their  abso- 
lute power,  &c.,  and  partly  by  some  speeches  of  the 
deputy,  who  protested  against  the  election  of  the 
governor  as  void,  for  that  the  deputies  of  the  several 
towns  had  agreed  upon  the  election  before  they  came, 
&c.  But  this  was  generally  discussed,  and  the  elec- 
tion adjudged  good."| 

*  Winthrop's  New  England,  vol.  i.  p.  146. 

f  Ibid.  vol.  i.  pp.  165-6.  J  Ibid.  vol.  i.  pp.  158. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  39 

"  Mr.  Endecott  was  also  left  out,  and  called  into 
question  about  the  defacing  the  cross  in  the  ensign  ; 
and  a  committee  was  chosen,  viz.  :  every  town  chose 
one  (which  yet  were  voted  for  by  all  the  people),  and 
the  magistrates  chose  four,  who,  taking  the  charge 
to  consider  the  offence,  and  the  censure  due  to  it, 
and  to  certify  the  court,  after  one  or  two  hours  time, 
made  report  to  the  court,  that  they  found  the  offence 
to  be  great,  viz. :  rash  and  without  discretion,  taking 
upon  him  more  authority  than  he  had,  and  not  seek- 
ing advice  of  the  court,  &c. ;  uncharitable,  in  that  he, 
judging  the  cross,  &c.,  to  be  a  sin,  did  content  himself 
to  have  reformed  it  at  Salem,  not  taking  care  that 
others  might  be  brought  out  of  it  also;  laying  a  blemish, 
also,  upon  the  rest  of  the  magistrates,  as  if  they  would 
suffer  idolatry,  &c.,  and  giving  occasion  to  the  state 
of  England  to  think  ill  of  us.  For  which  they  ad- 
judged him  worthy  admonition,  and  to  be  disabled 
for  one  year  from  bearing  any  public  office  ;  declining 
any  heavier  sentence  because  they  were  persuaded  he 
did  it  out  of  tenderness  of  conscience,  and  not  of  evil 
intent."* 

"  The  matter  of  altering  the  cross  in  the  ensign 
was  referred  to  the  next  meeting  (the  court  having 
adjourned  for  three  weeks),  it  being  propounded  to 
turn  it  to  the  red  and  white  rose,  &c." 

*  Winthrop's  New  England,  vol.  i.  p.  158. 


40  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

[We  have  seen,  under  our  first  notice  of  the  Cross 
of  St.  George,  that  "  its  use  was,  for  a  while,  nearly 
superseded  (in  England)  by  the  roses,  but  revived 
upon  the  termination  of  the  wars  between  the  rival 
houses."]  "  And  every  man  was  to  deal  with  his 
neighbors  to  still  their  minds,  who  stood  so  stiff  for 
the  cross,  until  we  should  fully  agree  about  it,  which 
was  expected,  because  the  ministers  had  promised  to 
take  pains  about  it,  and  to  write  into  England  to  have 
the  judgment  of  the  most  wise  and  godly  there."* 

"Anno  1635,  mo.  12,  1.]  At  the  last  General 
Court  it  was  referred  to  the  military  commissioners  to 
appoint  colors  for  every  company ;  who  did  accord- 
ingly, and  left  out  the  cross  in  all  of  them,  appoint- 
ing the  king's  arms  to  be  put  into  that  of  Castle 
Island,  and  Boston  to  be  the  first  company."f 

"  Anno  1636,  mo.  3,  15.]  Here  arrived  a  ship 
called  the  St.  Patrick,  belonging  to  Sir  Thomas 
Wentworth  [afterwards  the  great  Earl  of  Strafford], 
deputy  of  Ireland  [i.  e.  viceroy],  one  Palmer,  master. 
When  she  came  near  Castle  Island,  the  lieutenant 
of  the  fort  went  aboard  her  and  made  her  strike  her 
flag,  which  the  master  took  as  a  great  injury,  and 
complained  of  it  to  the  magistrates,  who,  calling  the 

*  Wiiithrop's  New  England,  vol.  i.  p.  158. 
|  Ibid.  vol.  i.  p.  180. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  41 

lieutenant  before  them,  heard  the  cause  and  declared 
to  the  master  that  he  had  no  commission  so  to  do. 
And  because  he  had  made  them  strike  to  the  fort 
(which  had  then  no  color  abroad),  they  tendered  the 
master  such  satisfaction  as  he  desired,  which  was 
only  this,  that  the  lieutenant,  aboard  their  ship, 
should  acknoAvledge  his  error,  that  so  all  the  ship's 
company  might  receive  satisfaction,  lest  the  lord 
deputy  should  have  been  informed  that  we  had  offered 
that  discourtesy  to  his  ship  which  we  had  never 
offered  to  any  before." 

"Mo.  3,  31.]  One  Miller,  master's  mate  in  the 
Hector,  spake  to  some  of  our  people  aboard  his  ship, 
that,  because  we  had  not  the  king's  colors  at  our 
fort,  we  were  all  traitors  and  rebels,  &c.  The 
governor  sent  for  the  master,  Mr.  Feme,  and  ac- 
quainted him  with  it,  who  promised  to  deliver  him 
to  us.  Whereupon,  we  sent  the  marshal  and  four 
sergeants  to  the  ship  for  him,  but  the  master  not 
being  aboard  they  would  not  deliver  him;  where- 
upon, the  master  went  himself  and  brought  him  to 
the  court ;  and,  the  words  being  proved  against  him 
by  two  witnesses,  he  was  committed.  The  next  day 
the  master,  to  pacify  his  men,  who  were  in  a  great 
tumult,  requested  he  might  be  delivered  to  him,  and 
did  undertake  to  bring  him  before  us  again  the 
day  after,  which  was  granted  him,  and  he  brought 

4* 


42  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

him  to  us  at  the  time  appointed.  Then,  in  the  pre- 
sence of  all  the  rest  of  the  masters,  he  acknowledged 
his  offence,  and  set  his  hand  to  a  submission,  and 
was  discharged." 

"We  will  break  the  thread  of  this  extract  to  intro- 
duce this  curious  paper,  which,  taken  from  the 
Colonial  Record,  i.  179,  we  find  given  at  length  in 
a  note  to  Winthrop's  New  England. 

"Whereas  I,  Thomas  Millerd,  have  given  out 
most  false  and  reproachful  speeches  against  his 
majesty's  loyal  and  faithful  subjects,  dwelling  in  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  in  America,  saying  that  they 
were  all  traitors  and  rebels,  and  that  I  would  affirm 
so  much  before  the  governor  himself,  which  expres- 
sions I  do  confess  (and  so  desire  may  be  conceived) 
did  proceed  from  the  rashness  and  distemper  of  my 
own  brain,  without  any  just  ground  or  cause  so  to 
think  or  speak,  for  which  my  unworthy  and  sinful 
carriage  being  called  in  question,  I  do  justly  stand 
committed.  My  humble  request,  therefore,  is  that, 
upon  this  my  full  and  ingenuous  recantation  of  this 
my  gross  failing,  it  would  please  the  governor  and 
the  rest  of  the  assistants  to  accept  of  this  my  hum- 
ble submission,  to  pass  by  my  fault,  and  to  dismiss 
me  from  further  trouble;  and  this,  my  free  and  vol- 
untary confession,  I  subscribe  with  my  hand,  this 
9th  June,  1G36." 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  43 

We  now  resume  our  extract  from  Winthrop. 

"  Then  the  governor  desired  the  masters  that  they 
would  deal  freely,  and  tell  us,  if  they  did  take  any 
offence,  and  what  they  required  of  us.  They  an- 
swered, that  in  regard  they  should  be  examined  upon 
their  return,  what  colors  they  saw  here ;  they  did 
desire  that  the  king's  colors  might  be  spread  at  our 
fort.  It  was  answered,  we  had  not  the  king's  colors. 
Thereupon,  two  of  them  did  offer  them  freely  to  us." 
This  was  about  June,  1636,  and  we  have  seen  that 
it  was  only  in  the  year  1635,  that  the  commissioners 
for  military  affairs  had  ordered  the  red  cross  ensigns 
to  be  laid  aside  ;  hence,  it  is  altogether  improbable 
that  they  could  not  have  procured  one  of  these,  but, 
what  we  have  styled  the  king's  colors  par  excellence, 
being  prescribed  only  for  ships,  was  not  likely  to  be 
owned  by  the  colonial  authorities.  Its  device,  a  modi- 
fication of  the  cross,  about  which  the  question  had 
arisen,  might  possibly  have  served  as  a  device  to  re- 
lieve the  tenderness  of  the  consciences  of  the  autho- 
rities, and  would  also  enable  the  masters  to  say,  on 
their  return,  that  they  had  seen  the  king's  colors 
spread  at  the  castle  at  Boston. 

As  we  see  above,  "it  was  answered  we  had  not  the 
king's  colors.  Thereupon,  two  of  them  did  offer 
them  freely  to  us.  We  replied,  that  for  our  part, 
wo  were  fully  persuaded  that  the  cross  in  the  ensign 


44  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

was  idolatrous,  and,  therefore,  might  not  set  it  up  in 
our  ensign ;  but,  because  the  fort  was  the  king's,  and 
maintained  in  his  name,  we  thought  his  own  colors 
might  be  spread  there.  So  the  governor  accepted 
the  colors  of  Captain  Palmer,  and  promised  they 
should  be  set  up  at  Castle  Island.  We  had  con- 
ferred over  night  with  Mr.  Cotton,  &c.,  about  the 
point.  The  governor,  and  Mr.  Dudley,  and  Mr. 
Cotton,  were  of  opinion  that  they  might  be  set  up  at 
the  fort  upon  this  distinction,  that  it  was  maintained 
in  the  king's  name.  Others,  not  being  so  persuaded, 
answered  that  the  governor  and  Mr.  Dudley,  being 
two  of  the  council,  and  being  persuaded  of  the  law- 
fulness, &c.,  might  use  their  power  to  set  them  up. 
Some  others  being  not  so  persuaded,  could  not  join 
in  the  act,  yet  would  not  oppose,  as  being  doubtful, 
&c."* 

"Anno  1636,  mo.  4,  16.]  The  governor,  with  con- 
sent of  Mr.  Dudley,  gave  warrant  to  Lieutenant 
Morris,  to  spread  the  king's  colors  at  Castle  Island, 
when  the  ships  passed  by.  It  was  done  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  masters  of  the  ten  ships  which  were  then 
here ;  yet  with  this  protestation,  that  we  held  the  cross 
in  the  ensign  idolatrous,  and,  therefore,  might  not 
set  it  up  in  our  own  ensigns;  but  this  being  kept  as 

*  Winthrop's  New  England,  vol.  i.  p.  187. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  45 

the  king's  fort,-  the  governor  and  some  others  were 
of  opinion  that  his  own  colors  might  be  spread  upon 
it.  The  colors  were  given  us  by  Captain  Palmer, 
and  the  governor,  in  requital,  sent  him  three  beaver- 
skins."* 

The  following  order  of  the  Court  of  Massachusetts, 
leads  us  to  conclude  that  these  colors,  or  those  con- 
taining the  king's  arms,  were  continued  in  use  until 
they  were  likely  to  bring  the  colony  under  the  dis- 
pleasure of  the  Parliament  of  England,  which,  in 
arms  against  the  king,  used  the  Red  Cross  flag,  or 
St.  George's  banner.  We  then  find  the  colony  of 
Massachusetts  giving  orders  on  this  matter  as  fol- 
lows :— 

"  MASSACHUSETTS  RECORDS,  1651.f 

"Forasmuch  as  the  court  conceives  the  old  English 
colors  now  used  by  the  Parliament  of  England  to  be 
a  necessary  badge  of  distinction  betwixt  the  English 
and  other  nations  in  all  places  of  the  world,  till  the 
state  of  England  shall  alter  the  same,  which  we 
much  desire,  we  being  of  the  same  nation,  have, 
therefore,  ordered  that  the  captain  of  the  castle 
shall  presently  advance  the  aforesaid  colors  of  Eng- 
land upon  the  castle  upon  all  necessary  occasions." 

*  Winthrop's  New  England,  vol.  ii.  p.  344. 
f  Hazard,  vol.  i.  p.  554. 


4G  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

These  extracts  show  the  importance  attached  to 
colors  in  those  times. 

This  question,  and  indeed  all  questions,  as  to  the 
flags  to  be  used  both  at  sea  and  land  by  the  subjects 
of  Great  Britain,  and  the  dominions  thereunto 
belonging,  were,  however,  set  at  rest,  by  the  1st 
article  of  the  treaty  of  union  between  Scotland  and 
England,  from  which  fact  the  flags  then  prescribed 
were  called  Union  flags. 

"  Act  of  Parliament  ratifying  and  approving  the 
treaty  of  the  two  kingdoms  of  Scotland  and  England, 
Jan.  16,  1707." 

"  I.  Article.  That  the  two  kingdoms  of  Scotland 
and  England  shall,  upon  the  first  day  of  May  next, 
ensuing  the  date  hereof,  and  forever  after,  be  united 
into  one  kingdom  by  the  name  of  Great  Britain  ;  and 
that  the  ensigns  armorial  of  the  said  united  kingdom 
be  such  as  her  majesty  shall  appoint ;  and  the  crosses 
of  St.  Andrew  and  St.  George  be  conjoined  in  such 
manner  as  her  majesty  shall  think  fit,  and  used  in 
all  flags,  banners,  standards,  and  ensigns,  both  at 
sea  and  land."* 

Under  the  head  of  Union  Jack,  we  have  shown  how 
these  crosses  were  conjoined.  We  now  give  a  por- 

*  History  of  the  Union  of  Scotland  and  England,  by  Danl.  De 
Foe,  p.  528. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  47 

tion  of  the  proclamation  of  July  28,  1707,  referred 
to  in  that  account  of  the  Union  Jack. 

"BY  THE  QUEEN:  PROCLAMATION. 

"Declaring  what  ensigns  and  colors  shall  be  borne 
at  sea  in  merchant  ships,  and  vessels  belonging  to 
any  of  her  majesty's  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  and 
the  dominions  thereunto  belonging. 

"ANNE  R. 

"  Whereas,  by  the  first  article  of  the  treaty  of  union, 
as  the  same  hath  been  ratified  and  approved  by  several 
acts  of  Parliament,  the  one  made  in  our  Parliament 
of  England,  and  the  other  in  our  Parliament  of  Scot- 
land, it  was  provided  and  agreed  that  the  ensigns 
armorial  of  our  kingdom  of  Great  Britain  be  such  as 
we  should  appoint,  and  the  crosses  of  St.  George  and 
St.  Andrew  conjoined  in  such  manner  as  we  should 
think  fit,  and  used  in  all  flags,  banners,  standards, 
and  ensigns,  both  at  sea  and  land,  we  have  therefore 
thought  fit,  by,  and  with  the  advice  of  our  privy 
council,  to  order  and  appoint  the  ensign  described  on 
the  side  or  margent  hereof  [see  Fig.  7,  Plate  I.],  to 
be  worn  on  board  of  all  ships  or  vessels  belonging  to 
any  of  our  subjects  whatsoever;  and  to  issue  this, 
our  royal  proclamation,  to  notify  the  same  to  all  our 
loving  subjects,  hereby  strictly  charging  and  com- 
manding the  masters  of  all  merchant  ships  and  ves- 


48  fc     TIIE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

sels  belonging  to  any  of  our  subjects,  -whether  em- 
ployed in  our  service  or  otherwise,  and  all  other 
persons  whom  it  may  concern,  to  wear  the  said 
ensign  on  board  their  ships  and  vessels.  And  where- 
as, divers  of  our  subjects  have  presumed,  on  board 
their  ships,  to  wear  our  flags,  jacks,  and  pendants, 
which,  according  to  ancient  usage,  have  been 
appointed  to  a  distinction  for  our  ships,  and  many 
times  thinking  to  avoid  the  punishment  due  for  the 
same,  have  worn  flags,  jacks,  and  pendants  in  shape 
and  mixture  of  colors,  so  little  different  from  ours,  as 
not  without  difficulty  to  be  distinguished  therefrom, 
which  practice  has  been  found  attended  with  mani- 
fold inconveniences  :  for  prevention  of  the  same  for 
the  future,  we  do,  therefore,  with  the  advice  of  our 
privy  council,  hereby  strictly  charge  and  command 
all  our  subjects  whatsoever,  that  they  do  not  presume 
to  wear  on  any  of  their  ships  or  vessels,  our  jack, 
commonly  called  the  Union  Jack,  nor  any  pendants, 
nor  any  such  colors  as  are  usually  borne  by  our  ships 
without  particular  warrant  for  their  so  doing  from  us, 
or  our  high  admiral  of  Great  Britain,  or  the  commis- 
sioners for  executing  the  office  of  high  admiral  for 
the  time  being  ;  and  do  hereby  further  command  all 
our  loving  subjects,  that,  without  such  warrant  as 
aforesaid,  they  presume  not  to  wear  on  board  their 
ships  or  vessels,  any  flags,  jacks,  pendants,  or  colors, 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OP  AMERICA.  49 

made  in  imitation  of  ours,  or  any  kind  of  pendant, 
whatsoever,  or  any  other  ensign,  than  the  ensign 
described  in  the  side  or  margent  hereof,  which  shall 
be  worn  instead  of  the  ensign  before  this  time  usually 
worn  in  merchant  vessels.  Saving  that,  for  the  better 
distinction  of  such  ships  as  shall  have  commissions  of 
letters  of  mart  or  reprisals  against  the  enemy,  and 
any  other  ships  or  vessels  which  may  be  employed 
by  principal  officers  and  commissioners  of  our  navy, 
the  principal  officers  of  our  ordnance,  the  commis- 
sioners for  victualling  our  navy,  the  commissioners 
for  our  customs,  and  the  commissioners  for  transpor- 
tation for  our  service — relating  particularly  to  those 
offices  our  royal  will  and  pleasure  is,  That  all  such 
ships  as  have  commissions  of  letters  of  mart  and  re- 
prisals, shall,  besides  the  colors  or  ensign  hereby 
appointed  to  be  worn  by  merchant  ships,  wear  a  red 
jack,  with  a  Union  Jack  described  in  a  canton  at  the 
upper  corner  thereof,  next  the  staff  [see  Fig.  1, 
Plate  II.],  and  that  such  ships  and  vessels  as  shall  be 
employed  for  our  service  by  the  principal  officers  and 
commissioners  of  our  navy,  &c.  [same  enumeration 
as  before],  shall  wear  a  red  jack  with  a  Union  Jack 
in  a  canton  at  the  upper  corner  thereof,  next  the 
staff,  as  aforesaid;  and  in  the  other  part  of  the  said 
jack,  shall  be  described  the  seal  used  in  such  of  the 
respective  offices  aforesaid,  by  \vhich  the  said  ships 
5 


50  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

and  vessels  shall  be  employed.  [This  flag  was  the 
same  as  Fig.  1,  Plate  II.,  except  the  seal  of  the  office 
hy  which  employed.]  And  we  do  strictly  charge  and 
command,  &c.,  (and  the  residue  orders,  seizure  of  ves- 
sels not  obeying  this  proclamation,  by  wearing  other 
ensigns,  &c.,  and  to  return  the  names  of  such  ships 
and  vessels,  and  orders  strict  inquiry  into  any  viola- 
tion of  the  proclamation,  and  then  directs  it  to  take 
effect  in  the  Channel  or  British  seas  and  in  the  North 
Sea,  after  twelve  days  from  the  date  of  the  procla- 
mation, and  from  the  mouth  of  the  Channel  unto 
Cape  St.  Vincent  after  six  weeks  from  the  date,  and 
beyond  the  cape,  and  on  this  side  the  equinoctial 
line,  as  well  in  the  ocean  and  Mediterranean  as  else- 
where, after  ten  weeks  from  the  date,  and  beyond 
the  line,  after  the  space  of  eight  months  from  the 
date  of  these  presents.) 

"  Given  at  our  court  at  Windsor,  the  28th  day  of 
July,  in  the  sixth  year  of  our  reign.* 

"GOD  SAVE  THE  QUEEN." 

In  a  description  of  Boston  Harbor,  in  1720,  thir- 
teen years  after  the  date  of  this  proclamation,  we  learn 
that,  "  to  prevent  any  possible  surprise  from  an  enemy, 

*  The  Boston  News  Letter,  No.  197,  from  Monday,  Jan.  19,  to 
Monday,  Jan.  26,  1707. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  51 

there  is  a  light-house  built  on  a  rock  appearing  above 
water,  about  three  long  leagues  from  the  town,  which, 
in  time  of  war,  makes  a  signal  to  the  castle,  and  the 
castle  to  the  town,  by  hoisting  and  lowering  the 
Union  flag  so  many  times  as  there  are  ships 
approaching.1'* 

After  having  given  the  first  article  of  the  treaty, 
and  the  above  proclamation,  this  description  is  only 
useful  as  proving  that  the  term  "Union  Flag"  was 
the  familiar  one  applied  to  describe  the  flags  esta- 
blished under  the  union,  as  well  in  the  colonies  as  the 
mother  country,  and  explains  the  following  note  in 
Frothingham's  Siege  of  Boston. 

Frothingham  says:  "  In  1774,  there  are  frequent 
notices  of  Union  flags  in  the  newspapers,  but  I 
have  not  met  with  any  description  of  the  devices  on 
them."f  After  the  history  of  Union  flags  already 
given,  this  will  not  appear  surprising;  for  who, 
in  our  day,  speaking  of  the  "Stars  and  Stripes," 
would  pause  to  describe  its  devices.  We,  however, 
are  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  the  flags  spoken  of 
in  the  newspapers,  referred  to  by  Mr.  Frothingham, 
were  the  ensigns  described  in  the  proclamation  of 
Queen  Anne,  as  being  the  common  ensign  of  the 

*  Neal's  History  of  New  England,  p.  585. 
•f-  Siege  of  Boston,  p.  104,  note. 


52  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

commercial  marine  of  "  Great  Britain,  and  the 
dominions  thereof."  For,  as  such,  they  must  have 
been  more  easily  procurable  than  the  Union  Jacks, 
and  more  familiar  to  the  people,  and  therefore  would 
appeal  with  most  force  to  the  popular  sentiment. 

That  this  was  the  case  in  the  colony  of  New  York, 
we  learn  from  the  following :  "  In  March,  1775,  '  a 
Union  flag  with  a  red  field'  was  hoisted  at  New  York 
upon  the  liberty-pole,  bearing  the  inscription  '  George 
Rex,  and  the  Liberties  of  America,'  and,  upon  the 
reverse,  *  No  Popery.'  "*  With  the  exception  of 
the  mottoes,  this  was  the  same  flag  as  is  represented, 
Fig.  7,  Plate  I. 

Frothingham  gives  us  to  understand  that  they 
were  displayed  on  liberty-poles  and  on  the  famous 
"Liberty  Tree''  on  Boston  Common.  In  this  con- 
nection, we  will  quote  a  few  lines  from  a  letter,  dated 
Philadelphia,  December  27,  1775,  to  show  the  tem- 
per of  the  public  mind  at  that  time,  and  to  indicate 
the  name  given  to  the  colonies,  whose  flag  we  are 
now  about  to  consider. 

*  T.  Westcott,  Notes  and  Queries.   Literary  World,  Oct.  2, 1852. 


OF  TUE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  53 


"  TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  NORTH  AMERICA  : 

"PHILADELPHIA,  December  27,  1775. 

"  Those  who  have  the  general  welfare  of  the 
United  English  Colonies  in  North  America  sincerely 
at  heart,  who  wish  to  see  peace  restored,  and  her 
liberties  established  on  a  solid  foundation,  may,  at 
present,  be  divided  into  two  classes,  viz. :  those  who 
*  look  forward  to  an  independency  as  the  only  state  in 
which  they  can  perceive  any  security  for  our  liber- 
ties and  privileges,  and  those  who  'think  it  not 
impossible  that  Britain  and  America  may  yet  be 
united.' 

"  If  the  present  struggle  should  end  in  the  total 
independence  of  America,  which  is  not  impossible, 
every  one  will  acknowledge  the  necessity  of  framing 
what  may  be  called  the  *  Constitution  of  the  United 
English  Colonies.'  If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  should 
terminate  in  a  reunion  with  Great  Britain,  there  yet 
appears  so  evident  a  necessity  of  such  a  constitution 
that  every  good  man  must  desire  it."* 

This  letter  shows  the  importance  the  Union  of  the 
Colonies,  lately  entered  into,  held  in  the  mind  of  the 
public.  Prior  to  its  being  entered  into,  its  necessity 
was  thus  forcibly  indicated  to  the  public  mind.  The 

*  American  Archives,  4th  series,  vol.  iv.  p.  467. 

5* 


54  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

newspapers  commonly  bore  the  device  of  a  disjointed 
snake,  represented  as  divided  into  thirteen  portions. 
Each  portion  bearing  the  initials  of  one  of  the  colo- 
nies, and  under  it  the  motto,  "Join,  or  die."  Thus 
impressed,  we  can  readily  perceive  how  naturally 
they  seized  upon  the  flag  in  use  in  the  mother  coun- 
try and  its  dominions,  as  an  emblem  of  union  among 
the  members  of  that  mother  country,  to  indicate  the 
necessity  of  it  among  the  colonies,  and,  by  displaying 
it  from  liberty-poles,  &c.,  indicated  the  object  for 
which  union  was  necessary,  viz. :  to  secure  the  liberty 
of  British  subjects. 

The  first  authentic  account  of  the  display  of  the 
Union  flag,  as  the  flag  of  the  united  colonies,  is  from 
the  pen  of  General  Washington,  in  a  letter  addressed 
to  Colonel  Joseph  Reed,  his  military  secretary. 

"  CAMBRIDGE,  January  4,  1776. 

"DEAR  SIR:  We  are  at  length  favored  with  a 
sight  of  his  majesty's  most  gracious  speech,  breathing 
sentiments  of  tenderness  and  compassion  for  his  de- 
luded American  subjects.  The  echo  is  not  yet  come 
to  hand,  but  we  know  what  it  must  be ;  and,  as  Lord 
North  said  (and  we  ought  to  have  believed  and  acted 
accordingly),  we  now  know  the  ultimatum  of  British 
justice.  The  speech  I  send  you.  A  volume  of  them 
was  sent  out  by  the  Boston  gentry ;  and,  farcical 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  55 

enough,  we  gave  great  joy  to  them,  without  knowing 
or  intending  it ;  for,  on  that  day,  the  day  which 
gave  being  to  the  new  army,  but  before  the  procla- 
mation came  to  hand,  we  had  hoisted  the  Union  flag 
in  compliment  to  the  united  colonies.  But,  behold ! 
it  was  received  in  Boston  as  a  token  of  the  deep  im- 
pression the  speech  had  made  upon  us,  and  as  a  sig- 
nal of  submission.  So  we  hear,  by  a  person  out  of 
Boston,  last  night.  By  this  time,  I  presume,  they 
begin  to  think  it  strange  that  we  have  not  made  a 
formal  surrender  of  our  lives.'' 

[From  Philadelphia  Gazette],  note  to  the  above,  in 
American  Archives. 

"PHILADELPHIA,  January  15,  1770. 

"  Our  advices  conclude  with  the  following  anec- 
dote :  That,  upon  the  king's  speech  arriving  at  Bos- 
ton, a  great  number  of  them  were  reprinted  and  sent 
out  to  our  lines  on  the  2d  of  January,  which,  being 
also  the  day  of  forming  the  new  army,  The  Great 
Union  Flag  was  hoisted  on  Prospect  Hill,  in  compli- 
ment to  the  United  Colonies.  This  happening  soon 
after  the  speeches  were  delivered  at  Roxbury,  but 
before  they  were  received  at  Cambridge,  the  Boston 
gentry  supposed  it  to  be  a  token  of  the  deep  impres- 
sion the  speech  had  made,  and  a  signal  of  submission. 
That  they  were  much  disappointed  at  finding  several 


56  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

days  elapse  without  some  formal  measure  leading  to 
a  surrender,  with  which  they  had  begun  to  flatter 
themselves." 

We  observe,  in  General  "Washington's  letter,  that 
theAmericans,  "farcical  enough,"  "without knowing 
or  intending  it,"  led  the  Boston  gentry  to  imagine 
them  about  to  surrender,  because  a  Union  flag  was 
displayed,  which  was  only  displayed  in  compliment  to 
the  United  Colonies  on  the  day  the  army,  organized 
under  the  orders  of  Congress,  subsequent  to  the  union 
of  the  thirteen  colonies,  came  into  being.  And,  in 
the  extract  from  the  newspaper  account  of  this,  that 
the  flag  was  displayed  on  Prospect  Hill,  and  that  it 
must  have  been  a  peculiarly  marked  Union  flag,  to  be 
called  The  Great  Union  Flag.  As  this  was  the 
name  given  to  the  national  banner  of  Great  Britain, 
this  indicates  this  flag  as  the  national  banner  of  the 
United  Colonies.  Lieutenant  Carter,  a  British  officer, 
very  naturally  explains  both  these  circumstances. 
He  was  on  Charlestown  Heights,  and  says  :  January 
26,  1776 :  "  The  king's  speech  was  sent  by  a  flag  to 
them  on  the  1st  inst.  In  a  short  time  after  they  re- 
ceived it,  they  hoisted  an  Union  flag  (above  the  con- 
tinental with  thirteen  stripes)  at  Mount  Pisgah  ; 
their  citadel  fired  thirteen  guns,  and  gave  the  like 
number  of  cheers."* 

*  Siege  of  Boston,  p.  283. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  57 

This  account  of  the  flag,  from  Lieut.  Carter,  is  cor- 
roborated by  the  following  from  the  captain  of  an 
English  transport,  to  his  owners  in  London,  when 
taken  in  connection  with  the  extract  subjoined  to  it, 
taken  from  the  British  Annual  Register  for  1776. 
The  captain  writes : — 

"  BOSTON,  Jan.  17,  1776. 

"  I  can  see  the  rebels'  camp  very  plain,  whose  co- 
lors, a  little  while  ago,  were  entirely  red;  but,  on 
the  receipt  of  the  king's  speech  (which  they  burnt), 
they  have  hoisted  the  Union  Flag,  which  is  here  sup- 
posed to  intimate  the  union  of  the  provinces."* 

The  Annual  Register  says :  "  The  arrival  of  a 
copy  of  the  king's  speech,  with  an  account  of  the 
fate  of  the  petition  from  the  Continental  Congress, 
is  said  to  have  excited  the  greatest  degree  of  rage 
and  indignation  among  them ;  as  a  proof  of  which, 
the  former  was  publicly  burnt  in  the  camp ;  and  they 
are  said,  on  this  occasion,  to  have  changed  their  co- 
lors from  a  plain  red  ground,  which  they  had  hitherto 
used,  to  a  flag  with  thirteen  stripes,  as  a  symbol  of 
the  number  and  union  of  the  colonies. "f 

We  have  already  shown  that  the  first  flag  spoken 
of  in  both  the  above  accounts  (Flag  No.  3)  in  our 

*  American  Archives,  4th  series,  vol.  iv.  p.  711. 
f  British  Annual  Register,  1776,  p.  147. 


58  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

Table,  bore  certain  mottoes ;  and  not  being  precise 
in  the  description  of  the  flag,  which  for  months  had 
been  displayed  before  their  eyes,  we  may  expect  in- 
accuracies in  the  description  of  a  flag  newly  presented 
to  them,  and  which,  even  to  an  officer  on  Charles- 
town  Heights,  who,  as  appears,  was  at  some  pains  to 
describe  it,  appeared  to  be  two  flags ;  and  remember- 
ing that  this  flag  was  supposed  to  be  displayed  on 
the  receipt  of  the  king's  speech,  the  following  ac- 
count of  the  colors  of  British  regiments  explains  why 
it  was  especially  regarded  by  the  British  as  a  token 
of  submission. 

"  The  king's,  or  first  color  of  every  regiment,  is  to 
be  the  Great  Union  throughout. 

"  The  second  color  is  to  be  the  color  of  the  facing 
of  the  regiment,  with  the  Union  in  the  upper  canton, 
except  those  regiments  which  are  faced  with  red, 
white,  or  black. 

"  The  first  standard,  Guidon,  or  color  of  regiments 
of  the  line,  is  not  to  be  carried  by  any  guard  but 
that  of  the  King,  Queen,  Prince  of  Wales,  Com- 
mander-in-chief, or  Admiral  of  the  Fleet,  being  of 
the  royal  family  ;  and,  except  in  those  cases,  it  is 
always  to  remain  with  the  regiment."* 

From  the  above  we  see  that,  to  the  mind  of  a 

*  King's  Regulations  for  the  British  Army,  Colors,  &c. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  59 

British  officer,  the  Union  flag,  supposed  to  have 
been  displayed  in  connection  with  the  receipt  of  the 
king's  speech,  above  a  flag  with  thirteen  stripes, 
would  indicate  an  acknowledgment  of  the  supremacy 
of  the  king  over  the  United  Colonies,  supposed  to  be 
represented  in  the  thirteen  stripes. 

Without  further  proof,  therefore,  we  may  conclude 
that  the  "Union"  flag,  displayed  by  General  Wash- 
ington, was  the  union  of  the  crosses  of  St.  George 
and  St.  Andrew,  with  thirteen  stripes  through  the 
field  of  the  flag.  (See  Fig.  2,  Plate  II.) 

On  the  evacuation  of  Boston  by  the  British,  this 
standard  was,  on  the  entrance  of  the  American 
army  into  Boston,  carried  by  Ensign  Richards.* 

While  we  may  fairly  infer  from  General  Washing- 
ton's letter,  that  this  emblem  of  union  had  presented 
itself  to  his  mind  as  such,  we  may  also  infer  from  his 
not  describing  its  accompanying  devices,  to  mark  the 
compliment  to  the  United  Colonies,  that  he  supposed 
Colonel  Joseph  Reed,  his  military  secretary,  fully 
acquainted  with  them ;  and  from  this  we  may  con- 
clude Colonel  Reed  had  something  to  do  with  its 
preparation.  This  conclusion  is  strengthened  by  the 
fact,  that  Colonel  Joseph  Reed  was  Secretary  to  the 
Committee  of  Conference  sent  by  Congress  to  ar- 

*  American  Archives,  4th  series,  vol.  v.  p.  423. 


CO  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

range  with  General  Washington  the  details  of  the 
organization  of  the  army,  which  went  into  being 
January  2,  1776.  And,  at  the  very  time  that  Com- 
mittee was  in  session  at  the  camp  at  Cambridge,  we 
find  Colonel  Reed  having  the  subject  of  flags  under 
consideration.  To  the  reply  to  a  letter  written  by 
him  at  that  time,  we  may  possibly  trace  the  origin 
of  the  use  of  a  modification  of  the  British  ensign, 
a  drawing  of  which  is  given  under  Queen  Anne's 
proclamation  before  quoted,  as  the  flag  of  the  United 
Colonies.  And  we  shall  give  good  reasons  to  con- 
clude that  this  modification  consisted  in  applying  to 
its  red  field  a  sufficient  number  of  white  stripes,  to 
divide  the  whole  into  thirteen  stripes,  alternate  red 
and  white,  as  above  shown  ;  and  we  will  show  the 
propriety  of  this  by  establishing  the  fact  that  a 
stripe  was  the  badge  of  rank  in  the  ununiformed 
army  that  assembled  about  Boston  in  defence  of 
liberty. 

Colonel  Joseph  Reed,  Secretary  to  the  Committee 
of  Conference  from  Congress,  and  Military  Secretary 
of  General  Washington,  the  Committee  being  then 
in  session,  wrote,  October  20,  177C  :  "  Please  fix 
upon  some  particular  color  for  a  flag  and  a  signal  by 
which  our  vessels  may  know  one  another.*  What 

*  From  this,  we  may  justly  conclude  that  the  Committee  of  Con- 
ference, composed  of  Dr.  Franklin,  Mr.  Lynch,  and  Mr.  Harrison, 


PI.  II. 


asf* 


DONTTHEADONMK. 


H  S  Dxival  &  Co»  S<»am  luh  l're»»,Phila«l" 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  61 

do  you  think  of  a  flag  with  a  white  ground,  a  tree  in 
the  middle,  the  motto,  *  Appeal  to  Heaven  ?'  This 
is  the  flag  of  our  floating  batteries."  To  which 
Colonels  Glover  and  Moylan  replied,  October  21, 
1775  :  "  That  as  Broughton  and  Selman,  who  sailed 
that  morning,  had  none  but  their  old  colors,  they 
had  appointed  the  signal  by  which  they  could  be 
known  by  their  friends  to  be  '  the  ensign  up  to  the 
maintopping  lift."* 

This  ensign,  which  is  called  their  "  old  colors," 
must  have  been  the  ensign  spoken  of  and  described 
in  Queen  Anne's  proclamation.  (See  Fig.  7,  Plate 
I.)  Since  we  have  seen  one  ensign  prescribed  1707, 
for  the  merchant  ships  and  vessels  of  Great  Britain, 
and  the  dominions  thereunto  belonging,  and  that  no 
change  was  made  until  1801.  This  being  the  case, 
the  ensign  of  the  colonial  cruisers,  inasmuch  as  they 
were  armed  merchant  vessels,  must  have  been  the 
British  ensign  displayed  at  the  maintopping  lift. 
There  were  several  reasons  for  this  ;  the  most  forci- 
ble of  which  were,  that  it  being  usual  to  have  no  special 
place  for  the  display  of  the  national  ensign  at  sea,  but 

had  the  subject  of  the  flag  under  consideration,  and  that  the  flag 
prepared  under  their  supervision  was  the  one  displayed  as  the  flag 
of  the  United  Colonies,  on  the  day  the  army  organized  by  them, 
General  Washington,  &c.,  went  into  being. 
*  Siege  of  Boston,  p.  261. 

6 


62  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

the  custom  being  to  exhibit  it  in  such  part  of  the  ves- 
sel from  which  it  could  be  most  conveniently  observed 
by  the  strange  sail  (on  which  occasion  only  it  was  worn 
at  sea),  to  adopt  a  particular  place  for  its  display  would 
be  to  give  it  a  new  character ;  one  peculiarly  happy 
for  the  then  state  of  affairs,  as  it  would  betray  the 
English  transports  to  the  colonial  cruisers,  and  would 
not  betray  the  Colonial  cruisers  to  the  British  ships 
of  war,  as  "the  maintopping  lift"  must  have  been 
such  a  position  as  would  not  attract  the  attention  of 
those  not  in  the  secret.  This  reply  of  the  gentlemen 
charged  with  the  continental  or  colonial  cruisers, 
would  readily  have  suggested  a  modification  of  the 
British  ensign  for  the  ensign  of  the  United  Colonies 
of  North  America ;  for  the  transition,  in  the  adoption 
of  a  flag,  from  a  particular  place  for  the  display  of  a 
particular  flag,  to  some  modification  of  the  same  flag, 
was  both  natural  and  easy  ;  especially,  as  a  slight 
modification  of  this  flag  would  enable  them  to  indi- 
cate the  number  of  colonies,  while  the  emblem  of 
union  would  happily  indicate  the  union  of  those  colo- 
nies, and  at  the  same  time  would  have  justified  them 
in  saying,  in  their  address  of  December  6,  1775, 
"  Allegiance  to  our  king.  Our  words  have  ever 
avowed  it,  our  conduct  has  ever  been  in  keeping  with 
it,"  as  having  acknowledged  their  dependence  on  the 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  C3 

mother  country,  even  in  the  flag  with  which  they 
were  to  struggle  against  her. 

Before  we  proceed  to  consider  the  origin  of  the 
stripes,  we  shall  give  an  account  of  the  same  flag 
as  displayed  on  the  fleet  fitted  out  at  Philadelphia 
about  this  time,  so  as  to  fix,  beyond  a  doubt,  this 
emblem  of  union.  As  a  preliminary,  we  will  give  a 
short  extract  of  the  sailing  orders  given  to  Benedict 
Arnold's  fleet,*  when  he  set  out  on  his  expedition  to 
Canada.  They  may  be  found  at  length  in  Major 
Meigs's  journal  of  that  expedition. 

"  1st  Signal."  "  For  speaking  with  the  whole 
fleet,  ensign  at  maintopmast  head." 

"  2d  Signal."  "For  chasing  a  sail,  ensign  at  fore- 
topmast  head." 

"  6th  Signal."  "  For  boarding  any  vessel,  Jack  at 
maintopmast  head,  and  the  whole  fleet  to  draw  up  in 
a  line  as  near  as  possible." 

The  Jack,  or  Union,  or  Union  Jack,  as  it  was  and 
is  called,  was  and  is,  to  this  day,  in  the  navy  of 
Great  Britain,  the  flag  of  the  admiral  of  the  fleet; 
and  was  probably,  as  such,  worn  by  the  vessel  of  the 
commander-in-chief  of  this  expedition,  and  its  use 
probably  suggested  the  adoption  of  a  standard  for 
the  commander-in-chief  of  the  first  American  fleet. 
Flag  No.  7,  in  our  table.  The  date  of  sailing  of  the 

*  Mass.  Historical  Collections,  2d  series,  vol.  ii.  p.  228. 


64  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

above  fleet  was  Sept.  19,  1775,  before  the  letter  of 
Colonels  Glover  and  Moylan,  speaking  of  the  "  old 
colors,"  was  written  (the  date  of  the  latter  was  Oct. 
21,  1775),  and  the  use  of  the  terms  jack  and  ensign 
strengthens  the  conclusion  that  the  term  "old  colors" 
meant  British  colors,  for  we  shall  find,  in  the  orders 
of  the  first  American  fleet,  that  the  ensign  and  jack 
are  called  the  striped  ensign  and  Jack. 

In  this  connection,  we  give  a  few  extracts  from  the 
sailing  orders  of  the  first  American  fleet,  "  given  the 
several  captains  in  the  fleet,  at  sailing  from  the  Capes 
of  Delaware,  Feb.  17,  1776."* 

"  Sir  :  You  are  hereby  ordered  to  keep  company 
with  me,  if  possible,  and  truly  observe  the  signals 
given  by  the  ship  I  am  in." 

"  In  case  you  are  in  any  very  great  danger  of 
being  taken,  you  are  to  destroy  these  orders  and 
your  signals." 

SIGNALS  FOR  THE  AMERICAN   FLEET  BY  DAY. 

"  For  chasing  :  For  the  whole  fleet  to  chase,  a  red 
pennant  at  the  foretopmast  head."  We  have  already 
said  that,  since  the  time  of  the  Romans,  a  red  flag 
has  been  the  signal  to  prepare  for  battle. 

"  For  seeing  a  strange  vessel :  Hoist  the  ensign, 
and  lower  and  hoist  it  as  many  times  as  you  see  ves- 
sels, allowing  two  minutes  between  each  time." 

*  American  Archives,  4th  series,  vol.  iv.  p.  1170. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  65 

Supposing  this  ensign  to  be  a  Union  flag,  observe 
the  similarity  between  this  signal  and  that  for  the 
lighthouse  and  castle  in  Boston  Harbor  in  1720 ;  "  the 
lighthouse,"  as  we  have  already  stated,  "in  time  of 
war  makes  a  signal  to  the  castle,  and  the  castle  to 
the  town,  by  hoisting  and  lowering  the  Union  flag  so 
many  times  as  there  are  ships  approaching." 

"  For  the  Providence  to  chase  :  A  St.  George's 
ensign  with  stripes  at  the  mizzen  peak." 

"  For  a  general  attack,  or  the  whole  fleet  to  en- 
gage, the  standard  at  the  maintopmast  head,  with 
the  striped  Jack  and  ensign  at  their  proper  places." 

Now  let  us  look  at  some  of  the  descriptions  of  the 
colors  of  this  fleet,  both  by  American  and  British 
writers. 

SAILING  OF  THE  FIRST  AMERICAN  FLEET. 

"  NEWBERN,  NORTH  CAROLINA,  February  9,  1776. 
"  By  a  gentleman  from  Philadelphia,  we  have  re- 
ceived the  pleasing  account  of  the  actual  sailing  from 
that  place  of  the  first  American  fleet  that  ever  swelled 
their  sails  on  the  Western  Ocean,  &c. 

"  This  fleet  consists  of  five  sail,  fitted  out  from 
Philadelphia,  which  are  to  be  joined  at  the  capes  of 
Virginia  by  two  more  ships  from  Maryland,  and  is 
commanded  by  Admiral  Hopkins,  a  most  experienced 
and  venerable  sea  captain.'' 

6* 


66  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

"  They  sailed  from  Philadelphia  amidst  the  accla- 
mations of  thousands  assembled  on  the  joyful  occa- 
sion, under  the  display  of  a  Union  flag,  with  thirteen 
stripes  in  the  field,  emblematical  of  the  thirteen 
United  Colonies."* 

And  the  following  extract  from  a  letter,  dated 
New  Providence,  West  Indies,  of  which  Island  Ad- 
miral Hopkins  took  prisoner  the  governor,  &c.f 

This  letter  was  kindly  furnished  by  Colonel  Peter 
Force,  editor  of  the  American  Archives,  and  may  be 
found  in  the  London  Ladies'  Magazine,  vol.  vii. 
July  1776,  p.  390. 

"NEW  TKOVIUENCE,  May  13,  1776. 

"  The  colors  of  the  American  fleet  were  striped 
under  the  Union,  with  thirteen  strokes,  called  the 
United  Colonies,  and  their  standard,  a  rattlesnake ; 
motto — '  Don't  tread  on  me."1 

The  following  extract  was  furnished  by  the  same 
gentleman,  to  whom  I  cannot  too  warmly  return  my 
thanks  for  the  facilities  and  assistance  he  has  afford- 
ed me. 

"  Wn,LiA3i3BURG,  VA.,  April  10,  1776. 
"  The  Roebuck  [a  British  cruiser]  has  taken  two 
prizes  in  Delaware  Bay,  which  she  decoyed  within 

*  American  Archives,  4th  series,  TO!,  iv.  p.  965. 
f  Ibid.  vol.  v.  p.  823. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  G7 

her  reach,  by  hoisting  a  Continental  Union  Flag" 
Reference  to  this  letter  not  obtained,  but  in  support 
of  its  correctness,  see  affidavit  of  Mr.  Barry,  master's 
mate,  ship  Grace,  captured  by  the  Roebuck,  to  be 
found  in  the  Pennsylvania  Evening  Post,  June  20, 
1776,  vol.  ii.  No.  221. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  multiply  proof  on  this  subject. 
The  term  union,  in  these  accounts,  both  by  American 
and  British  writers,  at  sea  and  land,  by  the  interpre- 
tation we  give  it,  explains  and  harmonizes  all  of 
them.  We  therefore  proceed  to  consider  the  other 
and  what  may  be  called  the  distinctive  devices — we 
mean  the  stripes  on  this  Continental  Union  Flag. 

Under  the  head  of  Ensign  (Brandes  Dictionary), 
we  are  told:  "Men  of  war  carry  a  red,  white,  or  blue 
ensign,  according  to  the  color  of  the  flag  of  the  ad- 
miral." By  the  1st  Article  of  the  union  between 
England  and  Scotland,  we  have  seen  that  the  ensigns, 
both  "  at  sea  and  land,"  were  to  embody  the  union  of 
the  crosses  of  St.  George  and  St.  Andrew  conjoined; 
hence  the  colors,  red,  white,  &c.,  only  apply  to  the 
field  of  the  ensign. 

In  the  extract  from  the  King's  Regulations  for  the 
British  Army,  we  have  shown  that  the  ensign  of  the 
different  regiments  differed  in  color  according  as  the 
facings  of  the  uniforms  of  the  particular  regiments 
to  which  they  belonged  differed.  We  have  seen,  in 


G8  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

the  Crusades,  the  different  nations  were  distinguished 
by  different  colored  crosses  on  their  surcoats,  from 
which  the  particular  colored  cross  was  transferred  to 
the  national  banners  of  at  least  Scotland  and  Eng- 
land. Here  the  striking  distinction  was  color.  The 
same  practice  prevailed  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution 
in  the  colonies. — See  the  Proceedings  of  the  Provin- 
cial Congress  of  Connecticut,  "  July  1,  1775.  One 
standard  for  each  regiment,  distinguished  by  their 
color,  as  follows,  viz. :  For  the  seventh,  blue  ;  for 
the  eighth,  orange."* 

With  this  practice  of  nations,  then,  before  them, 
and  evidently  applied  by  them,  viz. :  that  of  apply- 
ing some  badge  of  distinction  in  use  in  their  armies 
to  their  national  banner,  combined  with  that  of  indi- 
cating different  portions  of  their  armies  by  different 
colors  for  their  flags  ;  and  of  two  nations,  when  unit- 
ing, adopting  as  a  common  ensign  something  to  in- 
dicate their  union,  and  still  preserve  the  original 
banners  (both  as  to  devices  and  color),  under  which 
they  had  respectively  achieved  signal  triumphs,  espe- 
cially as  this  last  example  was  that  of  the  mother 
country,  we  may  expect  to  see  the  colonies  carrying 
out  this  practice  in  their  Union  flag. 

They   were   British   colonies :    and,    as   we   have 

*  American  Archives,  4th  series,  vol.  ii.  p.  1582. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  GO 

shown,  they  used  the  British  Union,  but  now,  they 
•were  to  distinguish  their  flag  by  its  color  from  other 
British  ensigns,  preserve  a  trace  of  the  colors  under 
which  they  had  previously  fought  with  success,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  represent  this  combination  in  some 
form  peculiar  to  themselves. 

The  mode  of  distinction  by  color  could  not  well 
be  applied  by  the  United  Colonies  in  a  single  color, 
as  the  simpler  and  most  striking  were  exhausted  in 
application  to  British  ensigns  ;  but,  if  applied,  must 
have  been  used  in  a  complex  form  or  combination  of 
colors.  This  being  the  case,  stripes  of  color  would 
naturally  be  suggested  as  being  striking,  as  enabling 
them  to  show  the  number  and  union  of  the  colonies, 
as  preserving  the  colors  of  the  flags  previously  used 
by  them;  and  also  the  badge  of  distinction,  which, 
at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  flag,  marked  the 
different  grades  in  the  ununiformed  army  before 
Boston.  Hence,  probably,  the  name,  The  G-reat 
Union  Flag,  given  to  it  by  the  writer  in  the  Phila- 
delphia Gazette,  before  quoted,  doubtless  Colonel 
Joseph  Reed,  inasmuch  as  this  flag  indicated,  as  re- 
pected  the  Colonies,  precisely  what  the  Great  Union 
Flag  of  Great  Britain  indicated  respecting  the  mother 
country. 

The  only  point  that  now  remains  for  us  to  esta- 
blish is,  that  a  stripe  or  ribbon  was  the  badge  in 


70  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

common  use  in  the  army  of  the  colonists  before 
Boston.  In  proof  of  this,  we  quote  the  following 
extracts  from  the  orders  of  General  Washington. 

"  HEAD-QUARTERS,  CAMBRIDGE,  July  14,  1775. 
("  Countersign,  Inverness.  Parole,  Halifax.) 
"  There  being  something  awkward  as  well  as  im- 
proper in  the  general  officers  being  stopped  at  the 
outposts,  asked  for  passes  by  the  sentries,  and 
obliged,  often,  to  send  for  the  officer  of  the  guard 
(who,  it  frequently  happens,  is  as  much  unacquainted 
with  the  persons  of  the  generals  as  the  private  men), 
before  they  can  pass  in  or  out,  it  is  recommended  to 
both  officers  and  men,  to  make  themselves  acquainted 
with  the  persons  of  all  officers  in  general  command, 
and,  in  the  mean  time,  to  prevent  mistakes,  the  gene- 
ral officers  and  their  aides-de-camp  will  be  distin- 
guished in  the  following  manner :  The  commander- 
in-chief,  by  a  light  blue  ribbon  worn  across  his 
breast,  between  his  coat  and  waistcoat;  the  majors 
and  brigadiers  general  by  a  pink  ribbon  worn  in 
like  manner;  the  aides-de-camp,  by  a  green  ribbon."* 

"  HEAD-QUARTERS,  CAMBRIDGE,  July  23,  1775. 
("  Parole,  Brunswick.     Countersign,  Princeton.) 
"As  the  continental  army  have  unfortunately  no 
uniforms,    and    consequently  many    inconveniences 

*  American  Archives,  4th  series,  vol.  ii.  p.  1GG2. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  71 

must  arise  from  not  being  able  always  to  distinguish 
the  commissioned  officers  from  the  non-commissioned, 
and  the  non-commissioned  from  the  privates,  it  is 
desired  that  some  badges  of  distinction  may  be  im- 
mediately provided ;  for  instance,  the  field  officers 
may  have  red  or  pink  colored  cockades  in  their  hats, 
the  captains  yellow  or  buff,  and  the  subalterns  green. 
They  are  to  furnish  themselves  accordingly.  The  ser- 
geants may  be  distinguished  by  an  epaulette  or  stripe 
of  red  cloth  sewed  upon  the  right  shoulder,  the  cor- 
porals by  one  of  green."* 

"  HEAD-QUARTERS,  CAMBRIDGE,  July  24,  1775. 
("Parole,  Salisbury.     Countersign,  Cumberland.) 
"It  being  thought  proper  to  distinguish  the  majors 
from  brigadiers  general,  by  some  particular  mark  for 
the  future,  the   majors   general  will  wear   a   broad 
purple  ribbon." 

Having  thus  established  the  use  of  the  stripe  as  a 
badge  of  distinction,  we  have  completed  our  proofs 
in  reference  to  the  Union  flag  displayed  by  General 
Washington  before  Boston,  January  2,  1776.  And 
to  perceive  how  simple  and  natural  is  the  deduction 
of  the  ensign  of  the  army  and  fleet  of  the  United 
English  Colonies  of  North  America,  from  the  national 

*  American  Archives,  4th  scries,  vol.  ii.  p.  1738. 


72  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

ensign  of  Great  Britain,  it  is  only  necessary  to  com- 
pare Fig.  7,  Plate  I.  and  Fig.  2,  Plate  II. 

Having  made  some  observations  in  reference  to 
the  mottoes  on  several  of  the  flags  given  in  our 
table,  we  would  now  invite  attention  to  the  religious 
character  of  those  on  the  colonial  flags,  viz.  :  Qui 
transtulit  sustinet,  and  an  "  Appeal  to  Heaven.''  In 
the  famous  effort  of  colonial  vigor,  which,  result- 
ing in  the  capture  of  Louisburg,  surprised  the  world 
in  1745,  we  learn,  from  Belknap's  History  of  New 
Hampshire,  vol  ii.  p.  157,  that  the  flag  used  bore 
the  motto,  Nil  desperandum  Christo  Duce.  A  motto 
furnished  by  the  celebrated  George  Whitfield.  This 
last  flag,  under  the  treaty  of  union,  must  have  been 
an  Union  flag,  probably,  similar  to  the  British  ensign 
above  given,  or  perhaps  with  a  white  field,  to  which 
color  the  New  England  people  were  partial  (see  the 
colors  of  the  Massachusetts  cruisers,  Flag  No.  8,  in  our 
table),  with  the  motto  above  given  inscribed  on  the  field. 

May  we  not  conclude  that,  when  the  flags  em- 
bodying such  mottoes  were  dispensed  with,  some  re- 
ference to  them  would  still  be  preserved,  as  would 
be  the  case  by  preserving  in  the  flag  which  replaced 
them  the  colors  of  the  flags  laid  aside  ? 

THE  RATTLESNAKE  UNION  FLAG. 

The  letter  previously  quoted,  dated  New  Provi- 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  73 

dence,  May  13,  1776,  says:  "And  their  standard,  a 
rattlesnake  ;"  motto — "Don't  tread  on  me."  This 
standard  is  thus  described,  viz. : — 

"  In  CONGRESS,  February  9,  1776. 

"Colonel  Gadsden  presented  to  the  Congress  an 
elegant  standard,  such  as  is  to  be  used  by  the  Com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  American  Navy,  being  a 
yellow  field,  with  a  lively  representation  of  a  rattle- 
snake in  the  middle,  in  the  attitude  of  going  to  strike, 
and  the  words  underneath,  'Don't  tread  on  me.'* 

"  Ordered,  That  the  said  standard  be  carefully 
preserved  and  suspended  in  the  Congress  room." 

Before  I  proceed,  I  shall  offer  one  or  two  remarks 
on  this  device  of  the  rattlesnake,  to  show  that  it 
also,  as  well  as  the  British  crosses,  was  an  emblem 
of  union,  and  that  it  was  seized  upon  as  one  then 
(December,  1775)  in  use,  and  familiar. 

In  1754,  in  the  Philadelphia  Gazette,  when  Ben- 
jamin Franklin  was  editor  of  that  paper,  an  article 
appeared,  urging  union  among  the  colonies  as  a 
means  of  insuring  safety  from  attacks  of  the  French. 
This  article  closed  with  a  wood-cut  of  a  snake  di- 
vided into  parts,  with  the  initials  of  one  colony  on 

*  American  Archives,  4th  series,  vol.  v.  p.  568.  South  Carolina 
Provincial  Congress. 

7 


74  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

each  division,  and  the  motto,  "Join,  or  die,''  under- 
neath, in  capital  letters.*  (See  Fig.  3,  Plate  II.) 

When  union  among  the  colonies  was  urged,  in 
1774-6,  as  a  mode  of  securing  their  liberties,  this 
device,  a  disjointed  snake,  divided  into  thirteen  parts, 
with  the  initials  of  a  colony  on  each  division,  and  the 
motto,  "  Join,  or  die,"  was  adopted  as  the  head-piece 
of  many  of  the  newspapers.  "When  the  union  of 
the  colonies  took  place,  this  was  changed,  for  the 
head-pieces  of  the  newspapers,  into  the  device 
adopted  on  the  standard,  viz. :  a  rattlesnake  in  the 
attitude  of  going  to  strike,  and  into  an  united  snake. 
(Under  both  forms  of  this  device,  was  the  motto, 
"Don't  tread  on  me.") 

The  seal  of  the  War  Department  is  the  only  public 
instrument  in  use,  exhibiting  evidence  of  the  rattle- 
snake's having  played  an  important  part  as  a  device 
in  the  American  Revolution.  The  old  seal  of  1778, 
and  the  more  modern  seal  now  in  use,  both  bear  the 
rattlesnake  (with  its  rattles  as  the  emblem  of  union), 
and  a  liberty  cap  in  contiguity  with  it ;  the  liberty 
cap  enveloped  by  the  body,  so  that  the  opened  mouth 
may  defend  the  rattles,  and  liberty  cap,  or  union 
and  liberty,  with  the  motto,  "This  we'll  defend." 
(See  Fig.  4,  Plate  II.) 

*  Franklin's  Works,  vol.  iii.  p.  25. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  75 

The  following  account  of  this  device,  supposed  to 
be  from  the  pen  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  indicates 
fully  why  it  was  adopted,  and  will  be  found  in  the 
American  Archives,  vol.  iv.  p.  468. 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  December  27,  1775. 
"  I  observe  on  one  of  the  drums  belonging  to  the 
marines  now  raising,  there  was  painted  a  rattlesnake, 
with  this  motto  under  it,  *  Don't  tread  on  me.'  As  I 
know  it  is  the  custom  to  have  some  device  on  the 
arms  of  every  country,  I  suppose  this  may  have 
been  intended  for  the  arms  of  America;  and,  as  I 
have  nothing  to  do  with  public  affairs,  and  as  my 
time  is  perfectly  my  own,  in  order  to  divert  an  idle 
hour,  I  sat  down  to  guess  what  could  have  been  in- 
tended by  this  uncommon  device.  I  took  care, 
however,  to  consult,  on  this  occasion,  a  person  who  is 
acquainted  with  heraldry,  from  whom  I  learned  that 
it  is  a  rule,  among  the  learned  in  that  science,  'that 
the  worthy  properties  of  the  animal,  in  the  crest- 
born,  shall  be  considered;'  he  likewise  informed  me 
that  the  ancients  considered  the  serpent  as  an  emblem 
of  wisdom  ;  and,  in  a  certain  attitude,  of  endless  dura- 
tion— both  which  circumstances,  I  suppose,  may  have 
been  had  in  view.  Having  gained  this  intelligence, 
and  recollecting  that  countries  '  are  sometimes  repre- 
sented by  animals  peculiar  to  them,'  it  occurred  to 


7C  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

me  that  the  rattlesnake  is  found  in  no  other  quarter 
of  the  world  beside  America,  and  may,  therefore, 
have  been  chosen  on  that  account  to  represent  her. 

"But  then,  'the  worthy  properties'  of  a  snake, 
I  judged,  would  be  hard  to  point  out.  This  rather 
raised  than  suppressed  my  curiosity,  and  having 
frequently  seen  the  rattlesnake,  I  ran  over  in  my 
mind  every  property  by  which  she  was  distinguished, 
not  only  from  other  animals,  but  from  those  of  the 
same  genus  or  class  of  animals,  endeavoring  to  fix 
some  meaning  to  each,  not  wholly  inconsistent  with 
common  sense. 

"  I  recollected  that  her  eye  excelled  in  brightness 
that  of  any  other  animal,  and  that  she  has  no  eye- 
lids. She  may,  therefore,  be  esteemed  an  emblem 
of  vigilance.  She  never  begins  an  attack,  nor,  when 
once  engaged,  ever  surrenders.  She  is,  therefore, 
an  emblem  of  magnanimity  and  true  courage.  As 
if  anxious  to  prevent  all  pretensions  of  quarrelling 
with  her,  the  weapons  with  which  nature  has  fur- 
nished her  she  conceals  in  the  roof  of  her  mouth  ;  so 
that,  to  those  who  are  unacquainted  with  her,  she 
appears  to  be  a  defenceless  animal;  and  even  when 
those  weapons  are  shown  and  extended  for  defence, 
they  appear  weak  and  contemptible  ;  but  their 
wounds,  however  small,  are  decisive  and  fatal. 
Conscious  of  this,  she  never  wounds  till  she  has 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  77 

generously  given  notice,  even  to  her  enemy,  and 
cautioned  him  against  the  danger  of  treading  on  her. 
Was  I  wrong  sir,  in  thinking  this  a  strong  picture  of 
the  temper  and  conduct  of  America? 

"  The  poison  of  her  teeth  is  the  necessary  means 
of  digesting  her  food,  and  at  the  same  time  is  cer- 
tain destruction  to  her  enemies.  This  may  be  under- 
stood to  intimate  that  those  things  which  are  destruc- 
tive to  our  enemies,  may  be  to  us  not  only  harmless, 
but  absolutely  necessary  to  our  existence.  I  confess 
I  was  wholly  at  a  loss  what  to  make  of  the  rattles, 
till  I  went  back  and  counted  them  ;  and  found  them 
just  thirteen,  exactly  the  number  of  the  colonies 
united  in  America  ;  and  I  recollected,  too,  that  this 
was  the  only  part  of  the  snake  which  increased  in 
number. 

"  Perhaps  it  might  be  only  fancy,  but  I  conceited 
the  painter  had  shown  a  half-formed  additional 
rattle  ;  which,  I  suppose,  may  have  been  intended  to 
represent  the  province  of  Canada.  'Tis  curious  and 
amazing  to  observe  how  distinct  and  independent  of 
each  other  the  rattles  of  this  animal  are,  and  yet 
how  firmly  they  are  united  together,  so  as  never  to 
be  separated  but  by  breaking  them  to  pieces.  One 
of  these  rattles  singly  is  incapable  of  producing 
sound ;  but  the  ringing  of  thirteen  together  is  suffi- 
cient to  alarm  the  boldest  man  living.  The  rattle- 

7* 


78  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

snake  is  solitary,  and  associates  -with  her  kind  only, 
when  it  is  necessary  for  their  preservation.  In 
winter,  the  warmth  of  a  number  together  will  pre- 
serve their  lives  :  while,  singly,  they  would  probably 
perish.  The  power  of  fascination  attributed  to  her, 
by  a  generous  construction,  may  be  understood  to 
mean,  that  those  who  consider  the  liberty  and  bless- 
ings which  America  affords,  and  once  come  over  to 
her,  never  afterwards  leave  her,  but  spend  their  lives 
with  her.  She  strongly  resembles  America  in  this, 
that  she  is  beautiful  in  her  youth,  and  her  beauty 
increaseth  with  her  age,  'her  tongue  also  is  blue,  and 
forked  as  the  lightning,  and  her  abode  is  among 
impenetrable  rocks.' 

"Having  pleased  myself  with  reflections  of  this 
kind,  I  communicated  my  sentiments  to  a  neighbor 
of  mine,  who  has  a  surprising  readiness  at  guessing 
at  everything  which  relates  to  public  affairs ;  and 
indeed,  I  should  be  jealous  of  his  reputation  in  that 
way,  was  it  not  that  the  event  constantly  shows  that 
he  has  guessed  wrong.  He  instantly  declared  it  as 
his  sentiments,  that  the  Congress  meant  to  allude  to 
Lord  North's  declaration  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
that  he  never  would  relax  his  measures  until  he  had 
brought  America  to  his  feet ;  and  to  intimate  to  his 
lordship,  that  if  she  was  brought  to  his  feet,  it 
would  be  dangerous  treading  on  her.  But,  I  am 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  79 

positive  he  has  guessed  wrong,  for  I  am  sure  that 
Congress  would  not  condescend,  at  this  time  of  day, 
to  take  the  least  notice  of  his  lordship,  in  that  or 
any  other  way.  In  which  opinion,  I  am  determined 
to  remain,  your  humble  servant." 

The  yellow  flag,  with  the  rattlesnake  in  the  middle, 
and  the  words  underneath,  "Don't  tread  on  me," 
(see  Fig.  5,  Plate  II.,)  the  standard  for  the  Com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  American  Navy,  was  probably 
the  flag  referred  to  by  Paul  Jones,  in  his  journal. 

Paul  Jones  was  commissioned  first  of  the  first 
lieutenants  in  the  continental  navy.  "  This  commis- 
sion, under  the  United  Colonies,  is  dated  the  7th  of 
December,  1775,  as  first  lieutenant  of  the  Alfred. 
On  board  that  ship,  before  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Jones 
hoisted  the  flag  of  America,  with  his  own  hands,  the 
first  time  it  was  ever  displayed,  as  the  commander- 
in-chief  embarked  on  board  the  Alfred."  (Page  34, 
Life  and  Correspondence  of  Paul  Jones.} 

From  the  foregoing  account,  it  will  be  perceived 
that  the  first  flag  adopted  by  the  army  of  the  colo- 
nists before  Boston,  was  a  red  flag,  with  the  mot- 
toes, Qui  transtulit  sustinet,  and  "  An  Appeal  to 
Heaven."  By  the  combination  of  these  mottoes,  the 
union  of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  in  defence 
of  their  outraged  liberties,  was  doubtless  intimated ; 


80  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

and,  taken  in  connection  with  those  mottoes,  the  color 
of  the  flag  indicated  that,  trusting  in  the  God  of 
tattles,  they  defied  the  power  of  the  mother  country. 
About  this  time,  too,  the  floating  batteries,  the  germ 
of  the  navy  subsequently  organized,  bore  a  white 
flag,  with  a  green  pine-tree,  and  the  motto,  "Appeal 
to  Heaven."  These  flags  were  adopted  before  the 
union  of  the  thirteen  colonies  was  effected. 

After  that  union,  and  upon  the  organization  of  the 
army  and  fleet,  these  flags  were  supplanted  by  one 
calculated  to  show  to  the  world  the  union  of  the 
North  American  colonies  among  themselves,  and  as 
an  integral  part  of  the  British  Empire,  and  as  such 
demanding  the  rights  and  liberties  of  British  sub- 
jects. And  a  flag  combining  the  crosses  of  St. 
George  and  St.  Andrew  united  (the  distinctive 
emblem  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain), 
with  a  field  composed  of  thirteen  stripes,  alternate 
red  and  white,  the  combination  of  the  flags  pre- 
viously used  in  the  camp,  on  the  cruisers,  and  the 
floating  batteries  of  the  colonies,  was  adopted  for  this 
purpose,  and  called  THE  GREAT  UNION  FLAG. 

The  union  implied  both  the  union  of  the  colonies 
represented  in  the  striped  field,  which  was  dependent 
upon  it,  and  the  nationality  of  those  colonies.  The 
thirteen  stripes,  alternate  red  and  white,  constituting 
the  field  of  the  flag,  represented  the  body  of  that 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  81 

union,  the  number  of  the  members  which  composed 
it,  as  well  as  the  union  of  the  flags,  which  had  pre- 
ceded this  Great  Union  Flag. 

We  assume  that  the  colors  of  those  stripes  were 
alternate  red  and  white,  inasmuch  as  those  were  the 
colors  in  the  first  flag  of  the  United  States,  and  we 
presume  no  change,  not  absolutely  necessary,  was 
made,  in  altering  the  flag  of  the  United  Colonies  to 
that  of  the  United  States.  There  is  no  evidence  of 
their  being  of  that  color,  except  the  universally  re- 
ceived tradition  that  such  was  the  case. 

The  colors  of  those  stripes,  alternate  red  and 
white,  indicated  on  the  part  of  the  colonies,  thus  re- 
presented as  united,  the  defiance  to  oppression,  sym- 
bolized by  the  red  color  of  the  flag  of  the  army,  and 
red  field  of  the  flag  of  the  continental  cruisers 
together,  with  the  purity  implied  by  the  white  flag  of 
the  floating  batteries,  of  which  the  motto  was,  "  Ap- 
peal to  Heaven." 

Lest  these  conclusions  should  seem  far  fetched,  we 
would  again  advert  to  the  fact,  that  in  the  present 
Union,  or  national  flag  of  the  United  Kingdom  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  not  only  are  .the  crosses 
of  St.  George,  St.  Andrew,  and  St.  Patrick  united, 
but  the  colors  of  the  fields  of  the  banners  of  St. 
George,  of  England,  St.  Andrew,  of  Scotland,  and 
St.  Patrick,  of  Ireland,  are  preserved. 


82  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

In  the  case  of  the  colonies,  everything  that  tended 
to  call  to  mind  previous  triumphs  would  have  heen 
studiously  preserved,  and  the  red  and  vrhite  flags 
were  identified  with  the  successes  of  Bunker  Hill, 
(for  tradition  says  the  flag  on  that  occasion  was  red, 
and  that  a  Whig  told  General  Gage  that  the  motto 
was,  "  Come,  if  you  dare,")*  and  the  various  successes 
of  the  siege  of  Boston,  prior  to  Jan.  2,  1776. 

The  use  of  the  stripes,  besides  indicating  the 
union  of  the  above  flags,  for  the  purpose  before  in- 
dicated, would,  as  a  badge  of  distinction  for  the 
Great  Union  Flag  of  the  colonies,  have  carried 
the  minds  of  those  who  were  marshalled  under  it 
back  to  the  moment  when  the  tocsin  of  war  sounded 
at  Lexington — called  them,  "generals"  as  well  as 
"private  men," — in  the  garbs  in  which  they  were 
pursuing  their  peaceful  avocations,  to  arms  in  defence 
of  liberty.  And  we  of  the  present  day  should  regard 
them  as  hallowed,  by  having  been  employed  by 
General  Washington  as  the  first  step  towards  intro- 
ducing subordination  into  the  army,  which  achieved 
our  independence.  In  those  stripes  we  may  per- 
ceive the  necessity  indicated  of  the  subordination  of 
each  State  to  the  Union,  while  their  equality  under 
the  Union  is  also  intimated,  by  there  being  nothing 

*  FrothingUam's  Siege  of  Boston. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  83 

to  indicate  that  any  particular  State  vras  represented 
by  any  particular  stripe.  There  being  seven  red 
stripes,  doubtless  arose  from  that  being  the  color  of 
the  principal  flags  represented  in  the  combination  of 
colors,  for  certainly  the  flags  of  the  army  and  crui- 
sers must  have  had  pre-eminence  over  that  of  the 
floating  batteries. 

The  striped  Union  flag  was  the  colonial  colors, 
both  at  sea  and  land,  but  there  was  also,  as  we  have 
seen,  a  standard  such  as  was  used  by  the  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  American  navy,  being  a  yellow  field, 
with  a  lively  representation  of  a  rattlesnake  in  the 
middle,  in  the  attitude  of  going  to  strike,  and  the 
words  underneath,  "  Don't  tread  on  me."  The  color 
of  the  snake,  as  represented,  was  dark.  This  cir- 
cumstance goes  strongly  to  prove  the  correctness  of 
our  conclusion,  that  the  example  of  the  mother 
country  was  followed  in  the  preparation  of  the  flags 
of  this  period — for  the  quarantine  flag  of  the  mother 
country  was  a  yellow  flag  with  a  dark  spot,  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  plague-spot  in  the  middle — those 
colors  were,  doubtless,  chosen  for  the  rattlesnake 
flag,  to  indicate  the  deadly  character  of  the  venom 
of  the  rattlesnake,  and  the  danger  of  treading 
on  it. 

But  we  have  before  stated  that  the  rattlesnake 
first  appeared  as  a  snake  divided  into  thirteen  parts, 


84  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

each  part  marked  with  the  initials  of  the  colony  to 
which  it  corresponded,  and  beneath  them  the  motto, 
"  Join,  or  die,"  indicating  the  necessity  of  union. 
And  that,  the  union  being  effected,  the  initials  on 
the  parts  were  dropped  (thus  indicating  the  equality 
of  the  colonies  under  the  Union),  and  the  parts  were 
united  in  the  form  indicated  in  this  standard,  and 
beneath  it  the  words,  "  Don't  tread  on  me,"  imply- 
ing the  consciousness  of  strength  derived  from  that 
union,  of  which,  we  have  seen,  the  rattlesnake  was 
an  emblem  indigenous  to  America,  while  at  the 
same  time  the  serpent  implies  eternal  duration. 
This,  then,  may  properly  be  called  the  Rattlesnake 
Union  Standard,  and  the  other,  the  Great  Union,  or 
Striped  Union  Flag ;  and  together  they  indicated 
that  existence  as  a  people  was  inseparable  from 
union — the  strength  resulting  from  that  union — the 
necessary  subordination  of  each  colony  to  the  whole 
Union,  the  intimate  connection  of  the  colonies  com- 
posing the  Union,  their  equality  and  perpetuity  under 
it,  and  the  power  of  fascination  in  the  Union  and  har- 
mony in  the  colonies,  which  would  draw  everybody 
to  America,  and  cause  those  who  had  once  tasted 
the  liberty  and  blessings  she  enjoys,  never  to  leave 
her,  but  to  "  spend  their  lives  with  her." 

Having   thus   described   the   flags  of  the  United 
Colonies,  and  shown  that  they  were  emblematic  of 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  85 

union,  and  hence  called  Union  flags,  in  imitation  of 
the  prevailing  custom  of  the  mother  country,  we  now 
proceed  to  consider  the  Flag  of  the  United  States, 
described  in  the  following  Resolution  of  Congress, 
passed  June  14,  1777  : — 

"Resolved,  That  the  Flag  of  the  Thirteen  United 
States  be  thirteen  stripes,  alternate  red  and  white  : 
That  the  union  be  thirteen  stars,  white  in  a  blue 
field,  representing  a  new  constellation." 

This  resolution  was  made  public  September  3, 
1777 ;  and  Colonel  Trumbull  represents  the  flag 
made  in  pursuance  of  it  as  used  at  Burgoyne's  sur- 
render, October  17,  1777. 

From  the  above  resolution  and  what  has  preceded, 
it  is  apparent  that  the  object  of  that  resolution  was 
simply  to  give  the  authorization  of  Congress  to  a 
color  existing,  so  far  as  the  stripes  and  part  of  the 
flag  called  the  union  were  concerned;  but  it  is  worthy 
of  remark  that  the  character  of  the  new  emblem  for 
that  union  is  specially  described  as  representing  "  a 
new  constellation." 

The  use  of  some  emblem  of  union  different  from 
the  British  crosses,  the  United  States  having  declared 
themselves  free  and  independent  States,  was  emi- 
nently natural,  but  the  description  of  the  emblem 
substituted  for  them  as  "representing  a  new  con- 
stellation," involves  the  idea  that  some  constellation, 


86  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

in  some  way  emblematic  of  union,  had  been  presented 
to  the  minds  of  those  adopting  this  resolution.  It 
may  be  said  that  the  adoption  of  a  star,  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  a  State,  would  naturally  lead  to  the  idea 
of  a  constellation ;  but,  as  the  emblem  to  be  altered 
was  one  of  union,  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  the 
first  idea  suggested  was  that  of  some  constellation, 
which  of  itself  implied  union,  and  that  the  represent- 
ation of  a  State  by  a  star  was  involved  in  it. 

The  question  that  now  arises  is,  was  there  any 
constellation  which  implied  union  ?  The  answer  is, 
there  was  the  constellation  Lyra.  The  next  point  is, 
to  ascertain  if  the  first  flag  displayed  under  this 
resolution  bore  that  constellation.  If  not,  in  what 
form  the  stars  were  presented  on  that  flag,  and 
whether  any  connection  can  be  traced  between  it 
and  the  constellation  Lyra. 

Let  us  first  consider  the  fitness  of  the  constellation 
Lyra  to  indicate  union.  In  Charles  Anthon's  Dic- 
tionary of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  we  find 
the  following  account  of  the  Lyra.  He  says : — 

"Lyra.  The  Latin  name  fides,  which  was  used  for 
a  lyre  as  well  as  a  cithara,  is  probably  the  same  as 
the  Greek  <j«j>«.'5f  j,  which,  according  to  Hesychius,  signi- 
fies gut-strings ;  but  Festus  takes  it  to  be  the  same  as 
fides  (faith),  because  the  lyre  was  the  symbol  of  har- 
mony and  unity  among  men."  The  quotation  from 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  87 

the  Astronomicon  of  Manilius,  presented  in  the  fol- 
lowing letter  from  Mr.  Charles  Francis  Adams, 
grandson  of  Mr.  John  Adams,  confirms  the  attri- 
butes above  ascribed  to  the  lyre,  and  its  correspond- 
ing constellation  "Lyra." 

QUINCT,  May  18,  1852. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Your  letter  of  the  fourth  came  upon 
me  unprepared  to  answer  it  without  investigations, 
which  I  have  ever  since  been  hoping  to  pursue,  but 
thus  far  in  vain.  Not  a  moment  has  been  at  my  com- 
mand since  I  received  it,  and  as  I  am  now  expecting 
every  moment  to  depart  for  Washington,  I  fear  that 
I  must  give  up  all  idea  of  doing  more  hereafter,  at 
least  in  season  for  any  object  of  yours. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  letters  to  and  from 
Generals  Green,  Sullivan,  Parsons,  and  Ward,  there 
are  no  memorials  remaining  in  my  hands  of  my  grand- 
father's services  while  chairman  of  the  Board  of  War. 
He  had  no  time  to  copy  or  record  papers,  so  that 
very  few  are  left.  I  am  not  aware  of  the  existence 
of  any  journal  or  other  record  of  the  action  of  the 
body,  nor  of  any  further  history  of  it  than  is  given 
in  his  lately  published  diary.  I  am,  therefore,  wholly 
unable  to  give  you  any  light  upon  the  question  of  the 
origin  of  the  American  colors. 

With  regard  to  the  other  design,  of  the  eagle,  with 
the  lyre  on  its  breast,  and  the  stars  of  the  constella- 


88  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

tion  Lyra,  I  can  only  say  that  I  possess  the  seal 
•which  was  the  original  form  in  which  the  device  was 
presented.  There  it  has  the  motto,  Nunc  sidera 
ducit,  taken  from  the  Astronomicon  of  Manilius, 
describing  the  effect  of  the  Lyre  of  Orpheus, 

"  At  Lyra  diductis  per  ccelum  cornibus  inter 
Sidera  conspicitur,  qua  quondam  ceperat  Orpheus 
Omne  quod  attigerat  cantu,  manesque  per  ipsos 
Fecit  iter,  domuit  que  infernas  carmine  leges. 
Hinc  coelestis  honos,  similisque  potentia  causte  : 
Tune  silvas  et  saxa  trahens,  nunc  sidera  ducit, 
Et  rapit  immensum  mundi  revolubilis  orbem." 

11.  331-337. 

It  is  my  opinion  that,  although  this  last  line  does 
not  appear,  my  father  had  it  in  his  mind  when 
applying  the  device  to  the  American  passport,  but 
I  have  not  had  the  leisure  to  look  for  any  explana- 
tion he  may  have  himself  left  of  it.  His  papers  are 
voluminous,  and  I  have  barely  as  yet  glanced  at  any 
part  of  their  contents.  This  must  be  my  apology 
for  sending  you  so  unsatisfactory  a  reply. 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 
(Signed,)        CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS. 

The  following  is  a  translation  of  the  above  quota- 
tion :  — 

Conspicuous  among  the  stars,  its  horns  wide  spread 
over  the  heavens,  is  the  Lyre,  with  which  Orpheus 


_  3, 

-  = 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  89 

was  wont  to  captivate  everything  to  which  he  ad- 
dressed his  song,  and  even  made  a  journey  through 
Hades  itself,  and  put  to  sleep  the  infernal  laws. 
Hence,  its  celestial  honor;  and,  by  the  same  power 
with  which  it  then  drew  rocks  and  trees  along,  it  now 
leads  the  stars,  and  whirls  along  the  immense  orb  of 
the  revolving  world. 

This  last  line  shows  that  the  constellation  Lyra, 
as  an  emblem  of  union  for  the  United  States,  would 
have  been  an  amplification  of  the  attribute  of  "fasci- 
nation" ascribed  to  the  Rattlesnake,  as  an  emblem  of 
union  for  the  United  States,  in  the  account  we  have 
already  given  of  the  Rattlesnake  as  such,  in  describ- 
ing the  standard  of  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
American  navy ;  for  the  constellation  Lyra  would  not 
only  imply  "that  those  who  consider  the  liberty  and 
blessings  which  America  affords,  and  once  come  over 
to  her,  never  afterwards  leave  her,  but  spend  their 
lives  with  her,"  but  that  by  their  union  and  harmony 
the  United  States  would  "  whirl  along  the  immense 
orb  of  the  revolving  world,"  to  follow  their  example 
in  their  forms  of  government. 

Having  thus  shown  how  appropriate  the  constella- 
tion Lyra  would  have  been  as  an  emblem  of  the 
union  of  the  United  States,  we  proceed  to  ascertain 
if  the  first  flag  displayed  under  the  resolution  of 

8* 


90  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

June  14,  1777,  bore  that  constellation.  In  Trum- 
bull's  picture  of  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne,  and 
Peale's  picture  of  Washington,  the  thirteen  stars  are 
represented  as  arranged  in  a  circle ;  it  now  remains 
to  show  the  existence  of  some  record  exhibiting  a 
connection  between  the  constellation  Lyra  and  the 
circle  of  thirteen  stars. 

We  find  this  record  on  a  form  for  a  passport  of 
the  United  States,  prepared  under  Mr.  John  Quincy 
Adams,  when  Secretary  of  State,  in  1820,  which 
form  is  now  in  use.  In  adopting  the  form  in  ques- 
tion, the  arms  of  the  United  States,  previously  used 
on  U.  S.  passports,  were  replaced  by  a  circle  of  thir- 
teen stars  surrounding  an  eagle,  holding  in  his  beak 
the  constellation  Lyra,  and  the  motto,  Nunc  sidera 
ducit. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Stone,  of  "Washington  City,  gives  the 
following  account  of  the  preparation  of  the  device 
above  described,  and  presented  in  the  vignette  to  the 
title-page.  In  it,  the  constellation  Lyra  is  repre- 
sented as  radiating  into  a  circle  of  thirteen  stars. 

MOUNT  PLEASANT,  WASHINGTON  CITT,  May  3,  1852. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  I  find,  on  examination,  that  on 
the  25th  of  August,  1820,  I  engraved  for  the  De- 
partment of  State,  by  order  of  J.  Q.  Adams,  Secre- 
tary of  State,  a  plate  for  a  passport,  at  the  head  of 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  91 

•which  was  a  spread  eagle,  drawn  to  encompass  the 
constellation  Lyra. 

The  drawing  was  made  by  me,  according  to  particu- 
lar verbal  directions  given  by  Mr.  Adams.     I  have  a 
distinct  recollection  of  having  submitted  the  drawing 
to  Mr.  Adams,  for  approval,  previous  to  engraving. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedt.  servt. 
(Signed,)  W.  J.  STONE. 

Had  not  this  device  been  substituted,  on  the  form 
for  a  United  States  passport,  for  the  arms  of  the 
United  States,  by  Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams,  we  should 
not  consider  the  constellation  Lyra,  radiating  into  a 
circle  of  thirteen  stars,  as  having  any  special  meaning; 
but  as,  at  the  time  the  circle  of  thirteen  stars  was 
introduced  into  the  flag  of  the  United  States  as  an 
emblem  of  union,  his  father,  Mr.  John  Adams,  was 
chairman  of  the  Board  of  War,  we  think  it  has. 

On  page  6,  vol.  iii.  of  the  Life  and  Writings  of 
John  Adams,  we  find  the  following  entry  in  his 
journal : — 

"  The  duties  of  this  Board  kept  me  in  continual 
employment,  not  to  say  drudgery,  from  the  12th  of 
June  1776,  till  the  llth  of  November  1777."  Again : 
*'  Other  gentlemen  attended  as  they  pleased,  but,  as 
I  was  chairman,  or  as  they  were  pleased  to  call  it, 
president,  I  must  never  be  absent." 


92  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

A  change  being  contemplated  in  the  emblem  of 
union  in  the  flag,  the  Board  of  War  would,  doubtless, 
have  had  charge  of  the  preparation  of  the  substitute ; 
and  from  the  above,  we  perceive  the  chairman  must 
have  been  particularly  connected  with  its  preparation. 

We  have  thus  presented  the  data  upon  which  is 
based  the  conclusion  that  the  constellation  Lyra  was 
originally  proposed  for  the  union  of  our  Flag,  in 
1777,  at  the  time  the  circle  of  thirteen  stars  was 
adopted.  The  reasons  for  that  conclusion  are  the 
following : — 

It  was  a  Union  flag  that  was  to  be  altered.  The 
United  States  having  become  independent  of  Great 
Britain,  the  British  emblem  of  union  was  no  longer 
appropriate;  some  other  emblem  of  union  was  to  be 
substituted. 

The  constellation  Lyra  was  a  time-honored  emblem 
of  union.  The  language  of  the  resolution  of  June 
14,  1777,  evidently  has  reference  to  such  an  emblem, 
representing  a  constellation.  The  Lyra  was  not 
adopted.  A  circle  of  thirteen  stars  was.  At  this 
time,  Mr.  John  Adams  was  chairman  of  the  Board  of 
War. 

Mr.  John  Adams's  son  became  Secretary  of  State 
in  1820.  Striking  out  the  arms  of  the  United  States, 
he  presented  on  the  passport  a  device,  representing 
the  constellation  Lyra  radiating  into  a  circle  of  stars 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  93 

— the  stars  thirteen  in  number.  At  this  time  there 
were  twenty-one  States  in  the  Union — hence  this 
circle  of  thirteen  stars  referred  to  an  earlier  day. 
The  first  instance  of  a  circle  of  thirteen  stars  being 
used  as  a  national  device,  was  in  the  U.  S.  Flag,  and 
its  being  presented  on  the  passport  must  have  refer- 
red to  that  use  of  it,  as  constituting  it  a  well-known 
emblem  of  the  United  States,  indicative  of  their 
union,  while  the  constellation  Lyra,  occupying  the 
centre  of  this  circle,  indicates  the  origin  of  the  circle 
of  stars,  as  an  emblem  of  union  "  representing  a  new 
constellation,"  in  that  time-honored  emblem  of  union. 
The  other  circumstances  we  have  adduced  point  to 
Mr.  John  Adams  as  the  source  from  which  his  son 
derived  his  information.  We  suppose  the  circle  of 
stars  was  preferred  to  the  Lyra  because  it  indicated 
the  perpetuity  of  the  Union,  which  was  distinctly  in- 
timated by  the  Rattlesnake  Standard,  laid  aside  when 
the  flag  of  the  United  States,  commonly  called  the 
Stars  and  Stripes,  was  adopted.  It  may  not  be  im- 
proper to  observe  that  these  deductions  are  in  keep- 
ing with  the  general  rules,  presented  in  our  Introduc- 
tion, as  deduced  from  the  practices  of  nations  relative 
to  national  emblems. 

Compare  Fig.  6,  Plate  II.,  the  Flag  of  the  United 
States,  as  first  presented  under  the  resolution  of 
June  14,  1777,  with  Fig.  1,  Plate  III.,  the  flag  as 


94  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

we  suppose  it  to  have  been  proposed  when  Mr.  John 
Adams  was  chairman  of  the  Board  of  War,  and  hoth 
of  the  above  with  the  vignette  to  the  title-page,  the 
device  introduced  into  the  passport  in  lieu  of  the 
arms  of  the  United  States,  by  Mr.  John  Q.  Adams, 
when  Secretary  of  State. 

In  making  these  comparisons,  the  eagle,  only 
adopted  for  the  arms  of  the  United  States  in  1782, 
must  be  kept  out  of  view,  or  rather  considered  as 
having  no  part  in  the  question  about  the  stars. 

In  the  preceding  pages,  we  have  established  the 
origin  of  the  part  of  the  flag  called  "the  union," 
also  that  of  the  circle  of  stars  as  an  emblem  for  that 
union,  together  with  that  of  the  stripes,  as  clearly  as 
analogy  will  enable  us  so  to  do.  As  corroborating 
the  views  we  have  advanced,  we  now  present  to  the 
reader  the  reports  on  the  adoption  of  the  arms  of  the 
United  States,  copied  by  permission  from  unpublished 
records  of  the  State  Department,  from  which  it  ap- 
pears that  certain  of  those  who  prepared  the  devices 
for  the  Flag  of  the  United  States,  were  also  engaged 
in  the  preparation  of  the  device  for  a  Great  Seal. 

"JOURNALS  OF  CONGRESS." 

« 1776— page  248. 

"  July  4.  Dr.  Franklin,  Mr.  J.  Adams,  and  Mr. 
Jefferson,  be  a  committee  to  prepare  a  device  for  a 
Great  Seal  for  the  United  States  of  America. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  95 


321. 

"Aug.  10.  The  Committee  appointed  to  prepare 
the  Device  for  a  Great  Seal  for  the  United  States 
brought  in  the  same,  with  an  explanation  thereof; 
ordered  to  lie  on  the  table. 

"No.  1.  Copy  of  a  Report  made  Aug.  10,  1776. 

"  The  Great  Seal  should  on  one  side  have  the  arms 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  which  arms  should 
be  as  follows  :  — 

"  The  shield  has  six  quarters,  parts  one,  coupe  two. 
The  1st  or,  a  rose,  enamelled  gules  and  argent  for 
England  ;  the  2d  argent,  a  thistle  proper,  for  Scot- 
land ;  the  3d  verd,  a  harp  or,  for  Ireland  ;  the  4th 
azure  a  flower-de-luce  or,  for  France  ;  the  5th  or, 
the  imperial  eagle,  sable,  for  Germany  ;  and  the  6th 
or,  the  Belgic  lion,  gules  for  Holland,  pointing  out 
the  countries  from  which  the  States  have  been  peo- 
pled. The  shield  within  a  border  gules  entwined 
of  thirteen  scutcheons  argent,  linked  together  by  a 
chain  or,  each  charged  with  initial  letters  sable  as 
follows  :  1st,  N.  H.  ;  2d,  M.  B.  ;  3d,  R.  I.  ;  4th,  C.  ; 
5th,  N.  Y.  ;  6th,  N.  J.  ;  7th,  P.  ;  8th,  D.  E.  ;  9th, 
M.  ;  10th,  V.  ;  llth,  N.  C.  ;  12th,  S.  C.  ;  13th,  G., 
for  each  of  the  thirteen  independent  States  of 
America. 

"  Supporters  dexter  the  Goddess  Liberty,  in  a  corse- 
let of  armor,  alluding  to  the  present  times  ;  holding 


96  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

in  her  right  hand  the  spear  and  cap,  and  with  her 
left  supporting  the  shield  of  the  States,  sinister,  the 
Goddess  Justice,  bearing  a  sword  in  her  right  hand, 
and  in  her  left  a  balance. 

"  Crest.  The  eye  of  Providence  in  a  radiant  tri- 
angle, whose  glory  extends  over  the  shield  and  be- 
yond the  figures.  Motto :  E.  Pluribus  Unum. 

"  Legend  round  the  whole  achievement.  Seal  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  MDCCLXXVI. 

"  On  the  other  side  of  the  said  Great  Seal  should 
be  the  following  device  : — 

"  Pharaoh  sitting  in  an  open  chariot,  a  crown  on 
his  head  and  a  sword  in  his  hand,  passing  through 
the  divided  waters  of  the  Red  Sea  in  pursuit  of  the 
Israelites.  Rays,  from  a  pillar  of  fire  in  the  cloud, 
expressive  of  the  Divine  presence  and  command, 
beaming  on  Moses,  who  stands  on  the  shore,  and, 
extending  his  hand  over  the  sea,  causes  it  to  over- 
throw Pharaoh.  Motto  :  Rebellion  to  tyrants  is  obe- 
dience to  God." 

In  regard  to  this  Report,  we  observe  Mr.  John 
Adams  was  one  of  those  engaged  in  preparing  it. 
The  emblems  to  represent  countries  were  the  rose 
for  England,  the  thistle  for  Scotland,  the  harp  for 
Ireland,  &c.  May  not  this  train  of  ideas  have 
suggested  to  his  mind  the  lyre  and  its  corresponding 


PI.  III. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  97 

constellation  to  mark  the  Union  of  the  United  States 
of  America  in  the  flag  of  those  States  ? 

We  observe  the  reference  to  the  Sacred  Volume  in 
the  device  for  the  reverse  of  the  proposed  Seal.  May 
not  the  idea  of  stars,  as  the  representatives  of  de- 
pendent States,  have  been  borrowed  from  the  same 
source,  and  applied  in  the  case  of  the  flag  as  States 
dependent  upon  union,  and  thus  constituting  a  con- 
stellation ? 

"  March  25,  1779— page  101. 

"  Ordered,  that  the  Report  of  the  Committee  on 
the  Device  of  a  Great  Seal  for  the  United  States,  in 
Congress  assembled,  be  referred  to  a  committee  of 
three — Lovell,  Scott,  Houston." 

This  Committee  made  a  Report,  May  10.   •  Vide 

No.  2. 

"Original  Report  of  May  10,  1779.     No.  2." 
"  The  seal  to  be  four  inches  in  diameter. 
"  On  one  side,  the  arms  of  the  United  States, 
as  follows :    The  shield  charged  on  the  field,  with 
thirteen  diagonal  stripes,  alternate   red  and  white. 
Supporters  dexter,  a  warrior  holding  a  sword ;  sinis- 
ter, a  figure  representing  Peace,  bearing  an  olive- 
branch.     The  crest,  a  radiant  constellation  of  thir- 
teen stars.     The  motto :  Bello  vel  pace.    The  legend 
round  the  achievement,  Seal  of  the  United  States. 
9 


98  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

"On  the  reverse :  The  figure  of  Liberty,  seated  in 
a  chair,  holding  the  staff  and  cap.  The  motto :  Semper. 
Underneath,  MDCCLXXVI." 

"  May  17,  1779— page  149. 

"The  Report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Device  of 
a  Great  Seal  was  taken  into  consideration,  and,  after 
debate, 

"Ordered  that  it  be  recommitted." 

"  Report  No.  2,  on  the  Great  Seal,  as  altered  after 
recommitment. 

"The  Committee  to  whom  was  referred,  on  the  25th 
of  March  last,  the  report  of  a  former  committee  on 
the  Device  of  a  Great  Seal  of  the  United  States,  in 
Congress  assembled,  beg  leave  to  report  the  following 
description : — 

"  The  Seal  to  be  three  inches  in  diameter. 

"  On  one  side,  the  arms  of  the  United  States,  as 
follows :  The  shield  charged  in  the  field  azure,  with 
thirteen  diagonal  stripes,  alternate  rouge  and  argent, 
supporters  ;  dexter,  a  warrior  holding  a  sword  ;  sinis- 
ter, a  figure  representing  Peace,  bearing  the  olive- 
branch.  The  crest,  a  radiant  constellation  of  thirteen 
stars.  The  motto:  Bello  vel  pace.  The  legend  round 
the  achievement,  The  Great  Seal  of  the  United  States. 

"  On  the  reverse  :  The  figure  of  Liberty,  seated  in 
a  chair,  holding  the  staff  and  cap.  The  motto :  Vir- 
tute  perennis.  Underneath,  MDCCLXXVI. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  99 

"  A  drawing  of  the  Seal  is  annexed.  No.  3,  May 
10,  1T80. 

"  A  miniature  of  the  face  of  the  Great  Seal  to  be 
prepared,  of  half  the  diameter,  to  be  affixed  as  the 
less  Seal  of  the  United  States." 

We  have  not  thought  it  worth  while  to  present  the 
drawing  above  referred  to. 

"Device  for  an  Armorial  Achievement  for  the  United 
States  of  North  America,  blazoned  agreeably  to  the 
laws  of  Heraldry,  proposed  by  Mr.  Barton,  A.  M. 

"  ARMS. — Paleways  of  *thirteen  pieces,  argent  and 
gules ;  a  chief  azure :  the  escutcheon  placed  on  the 
breast  of  an  American  (the  bald-headed)  eagle,  dis- 
played proper;  holding  in  his  beak  a  scroll,  inscribed 
with  the  motto,  viz. : — 

1 E  Pluribus  UnunC — 

and  in  his  dexter  talon  a  palm  or  an  olive-branch ; 
in  the  other  a  bundle  of  thirteen  arrows ;  all  proper. 
"  FOR  THE  CREST. — Over  the  head  of  the  eagle, 
which  appears  above  the  escutcheon,  a  glory,  or, 
breaking  through  a  cloud,  proper,  and  surrounding 

*  "As  the  pales  or  pallets  consist  of  an.  uneven  number,  they 
ought  in  strictness  to  be  blazoned — Argt.  6  pallets  gules ;  but  as 
the  thirteen  pieces  allude  to  the  thirteen  States,  they  are  blazoned 
according  to  the  number  of  pieces  paleicays," 


100  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

thirteen  stars  forming  a  constellation,  argent  on  an 
azure  field. 

"In  the  exergue  of  the  Great  Seal — 

"Jul.  IV.  MDCCLXXVI." 
"  In  the  margin  of  the  same — 

"Sigil.  Mag.  Reipub.  Confoed.  Americ." 

"Remarks. — The  escutcheon  is  composed  of  the 
chief  and  pale,  the  two  most  honorable  ordinaries ;  the 
latter  represent  the  several  States,  all  joined  in  one 
solid  compact  entire,  supporting  a  chief,  which  unites 
the  whole  and  represents  Congress.  The  motto  alludes 
to  the  Union.  The  colors  or  tinctures  of  the  pales  are 
those  used  in  the  Flag  of  the  United  States.  White, 
signifies  purity,  innocence;  red,  hardiness  and  valor. 
The  chief  denotes  Congress.  Blue  is  the  ground  of 
the  American  uniform,  and  this  color  signifies  vigi- 
lance, perseverance,  and  justice. 

"The  meaning  of  the  crest  is  obvious,  as  is  likewise 
that  of  the  olive-branch  and  arrows. 

"  The  escutcheon  being  placed  on  the  breast  of  the 
eagle  is  a  very  ancient  mode  of  bearing,  and  is  truly 
imperial.  The  eagle  displayed,  is  another  heraldric 
figure ;  and,  being  borne  in  the  manner  here  described, 
supplies  the  place  of  supporters  and  crest.  The 
American  States  need  no  supporters  but  their  own 
virtue,  and  the  preservation  of  their  Union  through 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.     101 

Congress.  The  pales  in  the  arms  are  kept  closely 
united  by  the  chief,  which  last  likewise  depends  on 
that  Union,  and  strength  resulting  from  it,  for  its 
own  support — the  inference  is  plain. 

W.  B." 

"  June  13,  1782." 

Mr.  Barton  also  presented  the  following : — 

"  A  device  for  an  armorial  atchievement  for  the 
Great  Seal  of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  Con- 
gress assembled,  agreeably  to  the  rules  of  heraldry, 
proposed  by  William  Barton,  A.  M. 

"ARMS.  —  Barry  of  thirteen  pieces,  argent  and 
gules,  on  a  canton  azure,  and  many  stars  disposed 
in  a  circle  of  the  first ;  a  pale  or,  surmounted  of 
another,  of  the  third  ;  charged  in  chief,  with  an  eye 
surrounded  with  a  glory  proper ;  and  in  the  fess- 
point,  an  eagle  displayed  on  the  summit  of  a  Doric 
column,  which  rests  on  the  base  of  the  escutcheon, 
both  as  the  stars. 

"CREST.  —  Or,  an  helmet  of  burnished  gold  da- 
masked, grated  with  six  bars,  and  surmounted  of  a 
cap  of  dignity,  gules,  turned  up  ermine,  a  cock 
armed  with  gaffs  proper. 

"  SUPPORTERS. — On  the  dexter  side ;  the  genius  of 
America  (represented  by  a  maiden  with  loose  auburn 
tresses,  having  on  her  head  a  radiated  crown  of  gold 

9* 


102  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

encircled  with  a  sky-blue  fillet,  spangled  with  silver 
stars;  and  clothed  in  a  long  loose  white  garment, 
bordered  with  green.  From  her  right  shoulder  to 
her  left  side  a  scarf,  seme  of  stars,  the  tinctures 
thereof  the  same  as  in  the  canton  ;  and  round  her 
waist  a  purple  girdle,  fringed  or  embroidered  argent, 
with  the  word  'Virtue' — resting  her  interior  hand 
on  the  escutcheon,  and  holding  in  the  other  the 
proper  Standard  of  the  United  States,  having  a  dove 
argent  perched  on  the  top  of  it. 

"  On  the  sinister  side  :  a  man  in  complete  armor, 
his  sword-belt  azure,  fringed  with  gold,  his  helmet 
encircled  with  a  wreath  of  laurel,  and  crested  with 
one  white  and  two  blue  plumes;  supporting  with  his 
dexter  hand  the  escutcheon,  and  holding  in  the 
interior  a  lance,  with  the  point  sanguinated,  and 
upon  it  a  banner  displayed,  Vert.,  in  the  fess-point 
an  harp  stringed  with  silver,  between  a  star  in  chief, 
two  fleurs-de-lis  in  fess,  and  a  pair  of  swords,  in 
saltier,  in  basses,  all  argent.  The  tenants  of  the 
escutcheon  stand  on  a  scroll,  on  which  is  the  follow- 
ing motto  : — 

'  Deo  Favente,' 

•which  alludes  to  the  eye  in  the  arms,  meant  for  the 
eye  of  Providence. 

"  Over  the  crest,  in  a  scroll,  this  motto : — 

'  Virtus  sola  invicta,' 

which  requires  no  comment. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  103 

"  The  thirteen  pieces,  barways,  which  fill  up  the 
field  of  the  arms,  may  represent  the  several  States ; 
and  the  same  number  of  stars,  upon  a  blue  canton, 
disposed  in  a  circle,  represent  a  new  constellation, 
which  alludes  to  the  new  empire  formed  in  the  world 
by  the  confederation  of  those  States.  Their  dispo- 
sition in  the  form  of  a  circle,  denotes  the  perpetuity 
of  its  continuance,  the  ring  being  the  symbol  of 
eternity.  The  eagle  displayed,  is  the  symbol  of 
supreme  power  and  authority,  and  signifies  the  Con- 
gress ;  the  pillar  upon  which  it  rests  is  used  as  the 
hieroglyphic  of  fortitude  and  constancy,  and  its 
being  of  the  Doric  order  (which  is  the  best  propor- 
tioned and  most  agreeable  to  nature),  and  composed 
of  several  members,  or  parts,  all  taken  together, 
forming  a  beautiful  composition  of  strength,  con- 
gruity,  and  usefulness,  it  may,  with  great  propriety, 
signify  a  well-planned  government.  The  eagle  being 
placed  on  the  summit  of  the  column  is  emblematical 
of  the  sovereignty  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States ;  and  as  further  expressive  of  that  idea,  those 
two  charges,  or  five  and  six  azure,  are  borne  in  a 
pale  which  extends  across  the  thirteen  pieces  into 
which  the  escutcheon  is  divided.  The  signification 
of  the  eye  has  been  already  explained.  The  helmet 
is  such  as  appertains  to  sovereignty,  and  the  cap  is 
used  as  the  token  of  freedom  and  excellency.  It 


104  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

was  formerly  worn  by  dukes;  says  Guillien,  they  had 
a  more  worthy  government  than  other  subjects.  The 
cock  is  distinguished  for  two  most  excellent  qualities, 
viz.,  vigilance  and  fortitude. 

"  The  genius  of  the  American  confederated  Re- 
public is  denoted  by  the  blue  scarf  and  fillet  glitter- 
ing with  stars,  and  by  the  flag  of  Congress  which  she 
displays.  Her  dress  is  white  edged  with  green, 
colors  emblematical  of  innocence  and  truth.  Her 
purple  girdle  and  radiated  crown  indicate  her  sove- 
reignty;  the  word  "Virtue,"  on  the  former,  is  to 
show  that  that  should  be  her  principal  ornament  ; 
and  the  radiated  crown,  that  no  earthly  crown  shall 
rule  her.  The  dove,  on  the  top  of  the  American 
standard,  denotes  the  mildness  and  purity  of  her 
government. 

"  The  knight  in  armor,  with  his  bloody  lance,  re- 
presents the  military  genius  of  the  American  empire, 
armed  in  defence  of  its  just  rights.  His  blue  belt 
and  blue  feathers,  indicate  his  country,  and  the  white 
plume  is  in  compliment  to  our  gallant  ally.  The 
wreath  of  laurel  round  his  helmet  is  expressive  of 
his  success. 

"  The  green  field  of  the  banner  denotes  youth  and 
vigor ;  the  harp*  [with  thirteen  strings],  emble- 

*  The  pen  is  run  through  the  words,  "with  thirteen  strings,"  in 
the  original. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OP  AMERICA.  105 

matical  of  the  several  States  acting  in  harmony  and 
concert ;  the  star  in  chief  has  reference  to  America, 
as  principal  in  the  contest;  the  two  fleurs-de-lis  are 
borne  as  a  grateful*  testimony  of  the  support  given 
to  her  by  France,  and  the  two  swords,  crossing  each 
other,  signify  the  state  of  war.  This  tenant  and  his 
flag  relate  totally  to  America  at  the  time  of  her 
Revolution. 

(Signed,)  "  WM.  BARTON." 

Mr.  Middleton,  Mr.  Boudinot,  and  Mr.  Rutledge, 
reported  a  modification  of  this,  June  13,  1782,  which 
was  referred  to  the  Secretary  of  the  United  States, 
in  Congress  assembled,  to  take  order. 

Device  for  a  Great  Seal,  as  adopted  June  20, 1782. 

"  The  Secretary  of  the  United  States  in  Congress 
assembled,  to  whom  was  referred  the  several  reports 
of  committees  on  the  device  of  a  Great  Seal  to  take 
order,  reports  : — 

"  That  the  device  for  an  armorial  atchievement, 
and  reverse  of  a  Great  Seal  for  the  United  States 
in  Congress  assembled,  is  as  follows : — 

*  "In  the  arms  of  Scotland,  as  manifested  in  the  royal  atchieve- 
ment, the  double  fressure  which  surrounds  the  lion  is  borne  fiory 
and  counter-fiery  (with  fleurs-de-lis),  which  is  in  consequence  of  a 
treaty  that  was  entered  into  between  Charlemagne,  then  Emperor 
and  King  of  France,  and  Achius,  King  of  Scotland  ;  to  denote  that 
the  French  lilies  should  guard  and  defend  the  Scottish  lion." 


106  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

"ARMS. — Paleways,  of  thirteen  pieces,  argent  and 
gules,  a  chief  azure.  The  escutcheon  on  the  breast 
of  the  American  bald  eagle,  displayed  proper,  hold- 
ing in  his  dexter  talon  an  olive-branch,  and  in  his 
sinister  a  bundle  of  thirteen  arrows,  all  proper,  and 
in  his  beak  a  scroll,  inscribed  with  this  motto : 
E  Pluribus  Unum. 

"  FOE  THE  CREST. — Over  the  head  of  the  eagle, 
which  appears  above  the  escutcheon,  a  glory,  or, 
breaking  through  a  cloud  proper,  and  surrounding 
thirteen  stars  forming  a  constellation,  argent  on  an 
azure  field. 

"REVERSE. — A  pyramid  unfinished.  In  the  zenith, 
an  eye  in  a  triangle,  surrounded  with  a  glory  proper. 
Over  the  eye  these  words,  Annuit  Cceptis.  On 
the  base  of  the  pyramid,  the  numerical  letters, 
MDCCLXXVL,  and  underneath  the  following  motto: 

'  Novua  ordo  Sector  urn.' 

"Remarks  and  Explanations. — The  escutcheon  is 
composed  of  the  chief  and  pale,  the  two  most  honor- 
able ordinaries.  The  pieces  paly,  represent  the 
several  States  all  joined  in  one  solid  compact  entire, 
supporting  a  chief,  which  unites  the  whole  and 
represents  Congress.  The  motto,  alluding  to  this 
Union.  The  pales  in  the  arms  are  kept  closely 
united  by  the  chief,  and  the  chief  depends  on  that 
union,  and  the  strength  resulting  from  it,  for  its  sup- 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  107 

port,  to  denote  the  confederacy  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  and  the  preservation  of  their  Union 
through  Congress. 

"  The  colors  of  the  pales  are  those  used  in  the 
flag  of  the  United  States  of  America ;  white,  signifies 
purity  and  innocence  ;  red,  hardiness  and  valor;  and 
blue,  the  color  of  the  chief,  signifies  vigilance,  perse- 
verance, and  justice.  The  olive-branch  and  arrows 
denote  the  power  of  peace  and  war,  which  is  exclu- 
sively vested  in  Congress.  The  constellation  denotes 
a  new  State  taking  its  place  and  rank  among  the 
sovereign  powers.  The  escutcheon  is  borne  on  the 
breast  of  the  American  eagle,  without  any  other 
supporters,  to  denote  that  the  United  States  of 
America  ought  to  rely  on  their  own  virtue. 

"  REVERSE. — The  pyramid  signifies  strength  and 
duration.  The  eye  over  it,  and  the  motto,  allude  to 
the  many  and  signal  interpositions  of  Providence  in 
favor  of  the  American  cause.  The  date  underneath 
is  that  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence;  and  the 
words  under  it  signify  the  beginning  of  the  new 
American  era,  which  commences  from  that  date." 

In  most  of  the  above  reports,  a  reference  will  be 
perceived  to  the  devices  and  colors  of  the  flag  of  the 
U.  States,  and  many  of  the  ideas  presented  in  them 
are  drawn  from  it,  viz.,  the  chief  azure  corresponding 
to  the  union  of  the  flag,  the  pales  corresponding  to  the 


108  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

stripes,  which  together  constitute  a  whole ;  the  con- 
stellation of  stars  also  taken  from  the  flag,  and 
indicating  a  new  State  (composed  of  thirteen  States) 
dependent  upon  their  union.  As  these  are  the  prin- 
cipal ideas  presented  in  the  arms  of  the  United 
States,  may  we  not  reasonably  conclude  that,  being 
borrowed  from  the  flag,  they  are  the  views  that  pre- 
vailed at  the  time  of  its  adoption,  presented  under 
another  guise  ?  The  reference  to  eternity,  in  the 
arms,  was  indicated  by  the  circle  of  stars  in  the  flag; 
the  reference  to  Providence,  in  the  eye,  was  in  the 
flag  presented  in  the  field  of  thirteen  stripes,  a  com- 
bination of  the  red  and  white  flags,  which  bore  the 
mottoes  :  "Qui  transtulit  sustinet,"  and  an  "Appeal 
to  Heaven." 

It  is  intimated,  in  some  of  these  reports,  that  the 
colors  for  the  flag  were  adopted  apart  from  other 
reasons,  as  implying  certain  virtues ;  of  the  fact  of 
their  implying  them  there  can  be  no  doubt,  but  that 
they  were  not  immediately  adopted  into  the  flag  for 
that  reason,  but  rather  because  they  were  already  in 
use,  with  these  meanings  attached  to  them,  at  least 
so  far  as  the  red  and  white  colors  were  concerned, 
we  think  we  have  conclusively  shown.  We  shall 
presently  offer  some  suggestions  relative  to  the  blue 
color,  which  will  indicate  a  more  direct  reason  for  its 
adoption  than  the  virtues  implied  by  it. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  109 

But  to  return  to  the  account  of  the  flag.  AVe 
remarked,  under  the  head  of  the  Great  Union  Fla<r 

O 

of  the  Colonies,  that  the  stripes  in  the  field  of  the 
flag  were  not  only  designed  to  show  the  union  of  the 
thirteen  colonies,  but  also  the  number  of  members 
which  composed  it,  and  their  dependence  as  a  whole 
upon  the  Union.  The  first  change  in  the  flag  of  the 
United  States,  shows  that  this  conclusion  was  a  cor- 
rect one.  It  was  directed  in  the  following  resolu- 
tion : — 

"  Be  it  enacted,  &c.,  That  from  and  after  the  first 
day  of  May,  Anno  Domini  one  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  ninety-five,  the  flag  of  the  United  States 
be  fifteen  stripes,  alternate  red  and  white.  That  the 
union  be  fifteen  stars,  white  in  a  blue  field."  Ap- 
proved January  13,  1794.  (See  Fig.  2,  Plate  III.) 

This  was  the  flag  of  the  United  States  during  the 
war  of  1812-14. 

In  1818,  the  flag  of  the  United  States  was  again 
altered,  and,  as  we  are  informed,  on  the  suggestion  of 
the  lion.  Mr.  Wendover,  of  New  York,  a  return  was 
made  to  the  thirteen  stripes ;  as  it  was  anticipated 
the  flag  would  become  unwieldy  if  a  stripe  was  added 
on  the  admission  of  each  State;  and,  moreover,  by  the 
plan  proposed,  the  union  of  the  old  thirteen  States, 
as  well  as  the  number  of  members  composing  the  ex- 
isting Union,  would  be  presented  by  the  flag  of  the 
10 


110  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

United  States.  Mr.  W.  also  proposed  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  stars  in  the  union  into  the  form  of  a 
single  star.  In  this,  there  was  a  departure  from  the 
original  design,  as  the  perpetuity  of  the  Union 
ceased  to  be  indicated  by  the  flag,  as  it  had  pre- 
viously been  in  the  circle  of  stars,  except  so  far  as 
indicated  by  the  several  stars  forming  one  large 
star. 

The  Resolution  of  1818  was  as  follows: — 

"  Be  it  enacted,  &c.,  That  from  and  after  the 
fourth  day  of  July  next,  the  flag  of  the  United 
States  be  thirteen  horizontal  stripes,  alternate  red 
and  white;  that  the  union  be  twenty  stars,  white,  in 
a  blue  field. 

"  And,  that,  on  the  admission  of  a  new  State  into 
the  Union,  one  star  be  added  to  the  union  of  the 
flag  ;  and  that  such  addition  shall  take  effect  on  the 
fourth  day  of  July  next  succeeding  such  admission." 
Approved  April  4,  1818. 

The  flag  planted  on  the  National  Palace  of  the 
city  of  Mexico  had  thirty  stars  in  the  union. 

The  following  compliment  was  paid  to  this  flag. 

June  3,  1848,  "  Mr.  Drayton  submitted  the  fol- 
lowing resolution;  which  was  considered,  by  unani- 
mous consent,  and  agreed  to  : — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Vice-President  be  requested 
to  have  the  flag  of  the  United  States  first  erected  by 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  Ill 

the  American  army  upon  the  palace  in  the  capital 
of  Mexico,  and  now  here  presented,  deposited  for 
safe-keeping  in  the  Department  of  State  of  the 
United  States." — Page  370,  Journal  of  the  Senate 
1847-48. 

The  union  of  the  United  States  flag  at  present 
contains  thirty-one  stars.  (See  Fig.  3,  Plate  III.) 

We  have,  in  the  preceding  pages,  offered  many 
reasons  for  concluding  that  the  devices  in  the  flag, 
its  colors,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  were  com- 
bined, originated  in  some  circumstance  directly  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  the  colonies,  or  in  some 
practice  which  prevailed  in  the  mother  country. 
Particularly  was  this  the  case  in  the  adoption  of 
the  emblem  of  union  from  the  mother  country. 
This  leads  us  to  make  a  few  remarks  as  to  the  promi- 
nence given  to  the  color  blue  in  the  reports  on  the 
adoption  of  the  device  for  a  Great  Seal  of  the  United 
States,  and  in  its  being  the  ground  of  the  uniform  of 
the  United  States.  We  have  previously  stated  that 
its  adoption  was  due  to  other  circumstances  directly, 
than  its  being  typical  of  the  virtues  of  perseverance, 
vigilance,  and  justice,  though  indirectly  this  meaning 
was  involved  in  its  adoption.  First,  blue  was  a 
favorite  color  in  the  colonies,  as  is  proved  by  the  fact 
of  its  being  the  uniform  of  the  South  Carolina  troops 
in  1775.  For  we  have  seen  that  Colonel  Moultrie 


112  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

caused  a  large  blue  flag  to  be  made,  with  a  crescent 
in  one  corner,  to  be  uniform  with  the  troops ;  and  by 
the  fact  that  the  pine-tree  flag  of  New  England  was 
a  blue  field,  containing  in  the  upper  canton,  next  the 
staff,  a  St.  George's  cross  on  a  white  ground,  and  a 
pine-tree  represented  in  the  upper  square  formed  by 
the  cross.  A  reason  for  this  color  being  a  favorite 
in  New  England,  may  perhaps  be  found  in  the  cir- 
cumstance, that,  in  1679,  when  the  banner  of  the 
league  and  covenant  was  raised  in  Scotland,  it  was  a 
red  flag,  the  borders  of  which  were  edged  with  blue.* 
Borders  of  different  color  from  the  body  of  the  flag, 
or  from  the  shield  of  the  coat  of  arms,  are  in  her- 
aldry, a  common  distinction,  and  as  such  was  doubt- 
less applied  by  the  Covenanters  (blue  being  the  color 
of  the  field  of  the  banner  of  Scotland,  as  we  have 
seen),  to  indicate  by  whom  this  red  flag  was  raised, 
and  thus  the  blue  color  became  identified  with  the 
league  and  covenant.  After  the  defeat  of  Bothwell's 
Bridge,  many  of  those  people  fled  to  the  colonies, 
particularly  to  New  England  and  New  Jersey. 

That  feelings  kindred  to  those  excited  among  the 
Covenanters  were  aroused  among  the  colonists,  is 
shown  by  the  mottoes  on  "  the  Union  flag  with  a  red 
field,"  already  spoken  of  as  displayed  on  a  liberty- 
pole  in  New  York  city  in  1775.  Those  mottoes  were, 

*  Walter  Scott's  Old  Mortality,  vol.  ii.  p.  116. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  113 

"  No  Popery,"  and  "  George  Rex  and  the  liberties  of 
America."  It  was  probably  in  reference  to  his  being 
commander  of  the  armies  of  the  colonies,  united  in  a 
solemn  league  and  covenant  in  defence  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  that  General  Washington  adopted 
as  his  badge  a  light  blue  riband,  Avhich  had  already 
been  identified  with  a  similar  league  and  covenant  in 
Scotland.  At  a  later  day,  on  the  adoption  of  an 
Union  flag  as  the  flag  of  the  United  Colonies,  the 
color  of  the  field  of  the  union  (derived,  as  was  the 
blue  border  of  the  red  flag  of  the  Covenanters,  from 
the  banner  of  Scotland)  being  blue,  this  color  became 
identified  with  that  which  gave  nationality  to  the 
colonies,  viz.,  their  union,  and  on  this  account  was 
adopted  as  the  ground  of  the  national  uniform,  and 
as  the  color  for  the  chief  or  union,  both  in  the  arms 
of  the  United  States  and  in  their  flag. 

That  the  prevailing  colors  of  the  uniforms  of  the 
army  at  that  time  corresponded  to  the  colors  of  the 
flag,  is  a  well-known  fact.  Thus  the  facings  of  the 
blue  coats  were  red,  the  color  of  the  plumes  white, 
tipped  with  red,  &c.  The  buff  and  blue,  commonly 
regarded  as  the  continental  uniform,  was  that  of  the 
general  officers,  and  not  of  the  body  of  the  troops. 
In  the  navy,  the  same  was  the  case.  The  prevailing 
colors  of  the  uniform  of  the  officers  of  the  navy 
were  blue  and  red ;  those  of  the  uniform  of  the 


114  THE  NATIONAL  FLAG 

marine  officers,  green  and  white;  the  colors  of  the  flag 
of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  flag  of  the  floating 
batteries,  before  given,  viz.,  white,  with  a  green  tree 
in  the  middle,  &c.  &c. 

That  such  considerations  operate  in  the  selection 
of  colors  for  uniforms,  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  the 
uniform  of  the  United  States  corps  of  cadets,  a 
corps  instituted  and  kept  up  with  a  view  to  foster 
and  preserve  military  knowledge  in  our  country, 
instead  of  being  of  the  national  color,  blue,  is  gray 
trimmed  with  black.  This  color  for  the  uniform  of 
that  corps  was  chosen  in  1815,  out  of  compliment  to 
the  services  of  the  brigade  commanded  by  General 
Scott  at  Chippewa,  &c.,  in  the  war  of  1812-14. 
The  embargo  and  the  war  having  cut  off  the  sup- 
ply of  blue  cloths,  the  commissary-general  of  pur- 
chases was  forced  temporarily  to  supply  that  brigade 
with  a  substitute  of  gray,  trimmed  with  black. 

As  this,  then,  was  the  origin  of  the  color  of  the 
uniform  of  the  corps  of  cadets,  may  we  not  conclude 
that,  for  the  reasons  assigned,  blue  was  adopted  as 
our  national  color,  out  of  compliment  to  the  Union, 
with  which,  as  we  have  shown,  it  was  intimately  con- 
nected. 

Having  given  the  preceding  account  of  our  Na- 
tional Flag,  we  now  add  the  names  of  those  con- 
nected with  its  different  phases. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  115 

1st.   General  Washington. 

2d.  Benjamin  Franklin,  Mr.  Lynch,  and  Mr.  Har- 
rison ;  ihe  Committee  of  Conference,  with  General 
Washington,  on  the  organization  of  the  army,  of 
which  Colonel  Joseph  Reed  was  Secretary. 

3d.  The  Marine  Committee;  Mr.  Bartlett,  Mr. 
Hancock,  Mr.  Hopkins,  Mr.  Deane,  Mr.  Lewis,  Mr. 
Crane,  Mr.  R.  Morris,  Mr.  Read,  Mr.  Chase,  Mr. 
R.  H.  Lee,  Mr.  Hewes,  Mr.  Gadsden,  and  Mr. 
Houston. 

4th.  The  Board  of  War;  Mr.  J.  Adams,  Mr. 
Sherman,  Mr.  Harrison,  Mr.  Wilson,  and  Mr.  E. 
Rutledge. 

With  this  array  of  names  before  us,  of  those 
who,  with  others,  established  our  liberty  and  Union, 
and  the  idea  we  have  developed,  that  the  devices 
adopted  by  them  for  the  National  Ensign  of  our 
country  were  intended  to  intimate  the  perpetuity  of 
that  country's  union,  may  we  not  truly  say  of 
WASHINGTON  and  his  compeers,  now  resting  in  their 
graves,  as  connected  with  those  devices,  There  is 
neither  speech  nor  language,  but  their  voices  are 
heard  among  them.  Their  sound  has  gone  out  into 
all  lands,  and  their  words  into  the  ends  of  the 
world,  proclaiming  their  trust  in  Providence,  that 
that  Union  should  only  perish,  when  the  sun  and 
moon  shall  be  darkened,  and  the  stars  shall  withdraw 
their  light. 


LirPINCOTT,  GRAMBO  &  CO.'S  PUBLICATIONS. 

THE  DIAMOND  EDTTIOH  OF  BYRON. 
THE  POETICAL  WORKS  OF  LORD  BYRON, 

WITH    A    SKETCH    OP    HIS   LIFE. 
COMPLETE   IN    ONE    NEAT    DUODECIMO   VOLUME,  WITH    STEEL   PLATES. 

Ttie  type  of  this  edition  is  »o  perfect,  and  it  is  printed  with  so  much  care,  on  fine  white  paper, 
that  it  can  be  read  with  as  much  ease  as  most  of  the  larger  editions.  This  work  is  to  be  had  ia 
plain  and  superb  binding,  making:  a  beautiful  rolume  for  a  gift. 

"  The  Poetical  Works  of  Lord  Byron,  complete  in  one  volume  :  published  by  L.,  G.  &  Co.,  Phila- 
delphia. We  hazard  nothing  m  saying  that,  take  it  altogether,  tins  is  the  most  elegant  work  ever 
issued  from  the  American  press. 

"'In  a  single  volume,  not  larger  than  an  ordinary  duodecimo,  the  publishers  have  embraced  th« 
whole  of  Lord  Byron's  Poems,  usually  printed  in  ten  or  twelve  volumes;  and,  what  is  more  remark- 
able, have  done  it  with  a  type  so  clear  and  distinct,  that,  notwithstanding  its  necessarily  small  size, 
it  may  be  read  with  the  utmost  facility,  even  by  failing  eyes.  The  book  is  stereotyped  ;  and  never 
have  we  seen  a  finer  specimen  of  that  art.  tverythinsf  about  it  is  perfect  —  the  paper,  the  print- 
ing, tlie  binding,  all  correspond  with  each  other ;  and  it  is  embellished  with  two  fine  engravings, 
well  worthy  the  companionship  in  which  they  are  placed. 

'  'This  will  make  a  beautiful  Christmas  present.' 

"  We  extract  the  above  from  Godey's  Lady's  Book.  The  notice  itself,  we  are  given  to  understand, 
ia  written  by  Mrs.  Hale. 

14  We  have  to  add  our  commendation  in  favour  of  this  beautiful  volume,  a  copy  of  which  has 
been  sent  us  by  the  publishers.  The  admirers  of  the  noble  bard  will  feel  obliged  to  the  enterprise 
which  has  prompted  the  publishers  to  dare  a  competition  with  the  numerous  editions  of  his  works 
already  in  circulation ;  and  we  shall  be  surprised  if  this  convenient  travelling  edition  does  not  in  a 
(treat  degree  supersede  the  use  of  the  large  octavo  works,  which  have  little  advantage  in  size  ana 
openness  of  type,  and  are  much  inferior  in  the  qualities  of  portability  and  lightness."  —  Intelligencer. 


THE   DIAMOND   EDITION  OF  MOORE. 

(CORRESPONDING  WITH  BYEON.) 

THE  POETICAL  WORKTOP  THOMAS  MOORE, 

COLLECTED  BY  HIMSELF. 

COMPLETE    IN  ONE  VOLUME. 

Tms  work  is  published  uniform  with  Byron,  from  the  last  London  edition,  and  is  the  most  com- 
plete printed  in  the  country. 

THE  DIAMOND   EDITION  OF  SHAKSPEARE, 

(COMPLETE  IN  ONE  VOLUME,) 
INCLUDING  A  SKETCH  OF  HIS  LIFE. 

UNIFORM  WITH  BYRON  AND  MOORE. 

THE   ABOVE    WORKS   CAN   BE   HAD   IN    SEVERAL    VARIETIES   OF   BIHDIKO. 
^ V^V<>/VVWV/VWV/VVN/VWVVVVVVVN 

GOLDSMITH'S  ANIMATED  NATURE. 

IN    TWO   VOLUMES,   OCTAVO. 
BEAUTIFULLY  ILLUSTRATED  WITH  385  PLATES. 

CONTAINING  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  EARTH,  ANIMALS,  BIRDS,  AND  FISHES;  FORMING 
THE  MOST  COMPLETE  NATURAL  HISTORY  EVER  PUBLISHED. 

This  is  a  work,  that  should  be  in  the  library  of  every  family,  having  been  written  by  one  of  the 
most  talented  authors  in  the  English  language. 

-Snldsmith  can  never  be  made  obsolete  while  delicate  genius,  exquisite  feeling,  fine  invention, 
the  most  harmonious  metre,  and  the  happiest  diction,  are  at  all  valued." 

BIGLAND'S  NATURAL  HISTORY 

Of  Animal*,  Birds,  Fishes,  Reptiles,  and  Insects.    Illustrated  with  numerous  and  beautiful  Eagr»v 

ings.    By  JOHN  BIGLAND,  author  of  a  "  View  of  the  World,"  "  Letters  on 

Universal  History,"  &e.    Complute  in  1  vol.,  12mo. 

n 


LIPPINCOTT,  GRAMBO  &  CO.'S  PUBLICATIONS. 

THE  POWER  AND  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


THE  UNITED  STATES;  Its  Power  and  Progress. 

BY  GUILLAUME   TELL  POUSSIK, 

LATE  MINISTER  OF  THE  REPUBLIC  OF  FRANCE  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

FIRST  AMERICAN,  FROM  THE  THIRD  PARIS  EDITION. 
TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  FRENCH  BY  EBMOKD  L.  DU  BARRY,  M.  D., 

SURGEON  U.  S.  NAVY. 

In  one  large  octavo  volume. 

SCHOOLCRAFT'S  GREAT  NATIONAL  WORK  ON  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF 
THE  UNITED  STATES, 

•WITH   BKAUTIFUL   AND   ACCURATE   COLOURED   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


HISTORICAL  AND  STATISTICAL  INFORMATION 

RESPECTING   THE 

HISTORY,  CONDITION  AND  PROSPECTS 

or  THB 

InMan 

COLLECTED  AND  PREPARED  UNDER  THE  DIRECTION  OF  THE  BUREAU  OF  INDIAN 
AFFAIRS,  PER  ACT  OF  MARCH  3, 18*7, 

B7  HEETHTT  B.  SCHOOX.CR APT,  ZiZi.D. 

ILLUSTRATED  BY  S.  EASTMAN,  CAFT.  U.  S.  A. 
PUBLISHED  BY  AUTHORITY  OF  CONGRESS. 

THE  AMERICAN  GARDENER'S  CALENDAR, 

ADAPTED  TO  THE  CLIMATE  AMD  SEASONS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Containing  a  complete  account  of  all  the  work  necessary  to  be  done  in  the  Kitchen  Garden,  Fruit 
Garden,  Orchard,  Vineyard,  Nursery,  Pleasure-Ground,  Flower  Garden,  Green-house,  Hot-house, 
and  Forcing  Frames,  for  every  month  in  the  year ;  with  ample  Practical  Directions  for  performing 
the  same. 

Also,  general  as  well  as  minute  instructions  for  laying  out  or  erecting  each  and  every  of  the  above 
departments,  according  to  modern  taste  and  the  most  approved  plans ;  the  Ornamental  Planting  of 
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plants  suitable  for  Live  Hedges,  with  the  best  methods  of  making  them,  <5tc.  To  which  are  annexe 
catalogues  of  Kitchen  Garden  Plants  and  Herbs;  Aromatic,  Pot,  and  Sweet  Herbs;  Medicinal 
Plants,  and  the  most  important  Grapes,  &c.,  used  in  rural  economy ;  with  the  soil  best  adapted  to 
their  cultivation.  Together  with  a  copious  Index  to  the  body  of  the  work. 

BY  BERNARD  M'MAHON. 
Tenth  Edition,  greatly  improved.    In  one  volume,  octavo. 

THE  USEFUL  AND  THE  BEAUTIFUL; 

OR,  DOMESTIC  AND  MORAL  DUTIES   NECESSARY  TO  SOCIAL  HAPPINESS, 

BEAUTIFULLY  ILLUSTRATED. 
16mo.  square  cloth.     Price  60  and  75  cents. 


LIPPINCOTT,  GKAMBO  &  CO.'S  PUBLICATIONS. 

THE  FARMER'S  AND  PLANTER'S  ENCYCLOP/EDIA, 

€jie  /arrarr's  niii  junto's  fpfrtaprlw  of  JUral  -affairs. 

BY  CUTHBERT  W.  JOHNSON. 
ADAPTED  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES  BY  GOUVERNEUR  EMERSON. 

Illustrated  by  seventeen  besmtiful  Engravings  of  Cattle,  Horses,  Sheep,  the  varieties  of  Wheat, 
Bariry,  Oats,  Grasses,  the  Weeds  of  Agriculture,  ic. ;  besides  numerous  Engrav- 
ings on  wood  of  the  must  important  implements  of  Agriculture,  inc. 

This  standard  work  contains  the  latest  and  best  information  upon  all  subjects  connected  with 
farming,  and  appertaining  to  the  country ;  treating  of  the  great  crops  of  grain,  hay,  cotton,  hemp, 
tobacco,  rice,  sugar,  &c.  fee. ;  of  horses  and  mules ;  of  cuttle,  with  minute  particulars  relating  to 
cheese  and  butter-making;  of  fowls,  including  a  description  of  capon-making,  with  drawings  of  the 
instruments  employed ;  of  bees,  and  the  Russian  and  other  systems  of  managing  bees  and  con- 
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animal,  mineral,  and  vegetable  substances  employed  as  manures.  Descriptions  of  the  most  approved 
ploughs,  harrows,  threshers,  and  every  other  agricultural  machine  and  implement;  of  fruit  and 
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insects,  and  the  best  means  of  gelling  nd  of  them;  together  with  a  thousand  other  matters  relating 
to  rural  life,  about  which  information  is  so  constantly  desired  by  all  residents  of  the  country. 
IN  ONE  LARGE  OCTAVO  VOLUME. 

MASON'S  FARRIER-FARMERS'  EDITION. 

Price,  62  cents. 


THE  PRACTICAL  FARRIER,  FOR  FARMERS: 

COMPRISING    A    GENERAL   DESCRIPTION   OP  THE   KOELB   AMD   USEFUL   ANIMAL, 

THE    HORSE; 

WITH  MODES  OF  MANAGEMENT  IN  ALL  CASES,  AND  TREATMENT  IN  DISEASE. 
TO    WHICH    IS    ADDED, 

A  PRIZE  ESSAY  ON  MULES  •  AND  AN  APPENDIX, 

Containing  Recipes  for  Diseases  of  Horses,  Oxen,  Cows,  Calves,  Sheep,  Dogs,  Swine,  Ac.  Ac. 

BIT  BXCHARD  MASON,  13.  D., 

Formerly  of  Surry  County,  Virginia. 
In  one  volume,  12mo.;    bound  in  cloth,  gilt. 

MASON'S  FARRIER  AND  STUD-BOOK-NEW  EDITION. 
THE  GENTLEMAN'S  NEW  POCKET  FARRIER: 

COMPRISING  A  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  OP  THE  NOBLE  AND  OSKFTJL  ANIMAL, 

THE    HORSE; 

WITH  MODES  OF  MANAGEMENT  IN  ALL  CASES,  AND  TREATMENT  IN  DISEASE. 

B7  RICHARD  MASON,  M.D., 

Formerly  of  Surry  County,  Virginia. 

•to  which  is  added,  A  PRIZE  ESSAY  ON  MULES;  and  AN  APPENDIX,  containing  Recipes  fo* 

Diseases  of  Horses,  Oxen,  Cows,  Calves,  Sheep,  Dogs,  Swine,  <kc.  Ac. ;  with  Annals 

of  the  Turf,  American  Stud-Book,  Rules  for  Training,  Racing,  Ac 

WITH   A   SUPPLEMENT, 

Comprising  an  Essay  on  Domestic  Animals,  especially  the  Horse ;  with  Remarks  on  Treatment  aim 

Breeding;  together  with  Trotting  and  Racing  Tables,  showing  the  best  time  on  record  at  on* 

two,  three  and  four  mile  heals ;  Pedigrees  of  Winning  Horses,  since  1839,  and  of  the  most 

celebrated  Stallions  and  Mares ;  with  useful  Calving  and  Lambing  Tables.    By 

J.  S.  SKINNER,  Editor  now  of  Ihc  Farmer's  Library.  New  York,  Ac.  Ac 


LIPPINCOTT,  CRAMBO  &  CO.'S  PUBLICATIONS. 

HINDS'S  FARRIERY  AND  J5TUD-BOOK-NEW  EDITION. 
FARRIERY, 

TAUGHT  ON  A  NEW  AND  EASY  PLAN: 

MOM 

%  €rmli5i  n  tlj?  Sisrnsrs  nnil  totals  nf  tlj 

With  Instructions  to  the  Shoeing  Smith,  Farrier,  and  Groom ;  preceded  by  a  Popular  Description  of 
the  Animal  Functions  in  Health,  and  how  these  are  to  be  restored  when  disordered. 

BY  JOHN    HINDS,  VETERINARY  SURGEON. 

With  considerable  Additions  and  Improvements,  particularly  adapted  to  this  country, 

BY  THOMAS  M.    SMITH, 
Teterinary  Surgeon,  and  Member  of  the  London  Veterinary  Medical  Society. 

WITH  A  SUPPLEMENT,  BY  J.  8.  BKJNNER. 

The  publishers  have  received  numerous  flattering  notices  of  the  great  practical  value  of  these 
works.  The  distinguished  editor  of  the  American  Farmer,  speaking  of  them,  observes: — "We 
cannot  too  highly  recommend  these  books,  and  therefore  advise  every  owner  of  a  horse  to  obtain 
them." 

"There  are  receipts  in  those  books  that  show  how  Fmmdrr  may  be  cared,  and  the  traveller  pur- 
sue his  journey  the  next  day,  by  giving  a  tablespoonful  of  alum.  This  was  got  from  Dr.  P.  Thornton, 
of  Montpelier.Kappahannock  county,  Virginia,  as  founded  on  his  own  observation  in  several  cases. 

"  The  constant  demand  for  Mason's  and  Hinds's  Farrier  has  induced  the  publishers,  Messrs.  Lip- 
pincott,  Grambo  i  Co.,  to  put  forth  new  editions,  with  a  '  Supplement'  of  100  pages,  by  J.  S.  Skinner, 
Esq.  we  should  have  sought  to  render  an  acceptable  service  to  our  agricultural  readers,  by  giving 
a  chapter  from  the  Supplement,  'On  the  Relations  between  Man  and  the  Domestic  Animals,  espe- 
cially the  Horse,  and  the  Obligations  they  impose  ;'  or  the  one  on  '  The  Form  of  Animal* ;'  but  that 
either  one  of  them  would  overrun  the  space  here  allotted  to  such  subjects." 

"  Lists  of  Medicines,  and  other  articles  which  ought  to  be  at  hand  about  every  training  and  livery 
•table,  and  every  Farmer's  and  Breeder's  establishment,  will  be  found  in  these  valuable  works." 


TO  CARPENTERS  AND  MECHANICS, 

Just  Published. 


A  NEW  AND  IMPROVED  EDITION  OF 


BEIXG  A  COMPLETE  BOOK  OF  IINE8  FOB 

ARPENTR-ST   AND   JOINERY; 

Treating  fully  on  Practical  Geometry,  Saffit's  Brick  and  Plaster  Groins,  Niches  of  every  description, 

Sky-lights,  Lines  for  Roots  and  Domes ;  with  a  great  variety  of  Designs  for  Roofs, 

Trussed  Girders,  Floors,  Domes,  Bridges,  &c.,  An?le  Bars  for  Shop 

Fronts,  <tc.,  and  Raking  Mouldings. 

ALSO, 

Additional  Plans  for  various  Stair-Cases,  with  the  Lines  for  producing  the  Face  and  Falling  Mould* 
never  before  published,  and  greatly  superior  to  those  given  in  a  former  edition  of  this  work. 

BY  WILLIAM  JOHNSON,  ARCHITECT, 

OP   PHILADELPHIA. 

T*e  whole  founded  on  true  Geometrical  Principles ;  the  Theory  and  Practice  well  explained  and 
fully  exemplified,  on  eighty-three  copper  plates,  including  some  Observations  and  Calculation!  on 
the  Strength  of  Timber. 

BY    PETER     NICHOLSON, 

M  "The  Carpenter  and  Jouer'i  Assistant,"  "The  Student's  Instructor  to  the  Ftr* 
Orders,"  &c. 

Thirteenth  Edition.     One  volume,  4to.,  well  bound. 
U 


LIPPINCOTT,  GRAMBO  &  CO.'S  PUBLICATIONS. 

A  DICTIONARY  OF  SELECT  AND  POPULAR  QUOTATIONS, 

WHICH  ARE  IN  DAILY  USE. 

TAKEN  FROM  THE  LATIN,  FRENCH,  GREEK,  SPANISH  AND  ITALIAN  LANGUAGES. 

Together  with  a  copious  Collection  of  Law  Maxims  and  Law  T«r:ns,  translated  into 

English,  with  Illustrations,  Historical  and  Idiomatic. 

NEW  AMERICAN  EDITION,  CORRECTED,  WITH  ADDITIONS. 
One  volume,    12mo. 

Thu  volume  comprises  a  copious  collection  of  legal  ami  other  terms  which  are  in  common  use, 
*r.th  English  translations  and  historical  illustrations;  and  we  should  judge  its  author  had  sureljr 

een  to  a  great  "  Feast  of  Languages,"  and  stole  all  the  scraps,  A  work  of  this  character  should 
have  an  extensive  sale,  as  it  entirely  obviates  a  serious  difficulty  in  which  most  readers  are  involved 
by  the  frequent  occurrence  of  Latin,  Greek,  and  French  passages,  which  we  suppose  are  introduced 
by  authors  fur  a  mere  show  of  learning— a  difficulty  very  perplexing  to  readers  in  general.  This 
"  Dictionary  of  Quotations,"  concerning  which  too  much  cannot  be  said  in  its  favour,  effectually 
removes  the  difficulty,  and  gives  the  reader  an  advantage  over  the  author ;  for  we  believe  a  majority 
are  themselves  ignorant  of  the  meaning  of  the  terms  they  employ.  Very  few  truly  learned  authors 
will  insult  their  readers  by  introducing  Latin  or  French  quotations  in  their  writings,  when  "  plain 
English"  will  do  as  well ;  but  we  will  not  enlarge  on  this  point. 

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classically  educated  as  a  book  of  reference,  and  answers  all  the  purposes  of  a  Lexicon  —  indeed,  on 
many  accounts,  it  is  better.  It  saves  the  trouble  of  tumbling  over  the  larger  volumes,  to  which 
every  one,  and  especially  those  engaged  in  the  legal  profession,  are  verv  often  subjected.  It  should 
have  a  place  in  every  library  in  the  country. 


RUSCHENBERGER'S  NATURAL  HISTORY, 

COMPLETE,    WITII    NEW    GLOSSARY. 


EMBRACING   ZOOLOGY,  BOTANY  AND  GEOLOGY: 

FOR  SCHOOLS,  COLLEGES  AND  FAMILIES. 
BY  W.  S.  W.  HTJSCHENBERGEH,  M.  D. 

IN   TWO   VOLUMES. 

WITH  NEARLY  ONE  THOUSAND  ILLUSTRATIONS,  AND  A  COPIOUS  GLOSSARY. 
VoL  L  contains  Vertebrate  Animals.    Vol.  II.  contains  Intervertebrate  Animals,  Botany,  and  Geolon. 

A  Beautiful  and  Valuable  Presentation  Book. 


THE    POET'S    OFFERING. 

EDITED  BY  MRS.  HALE. 

With  a  Portrait  of  the  Editress,  a  Splendid  Illuminated  Title-Page,  and  Twelve  Beautiful  Engrav- 
ings by  Sartain.  Bound  in  rich  Turkey  Morocco,  and  Extra  Cloth,  Gilt  Edge. 

To  those  who  wish  to  make  a  present  that  will  never  lose  its  value,  this  will  be  found  the  most 
desirable  Gift-Book  ever  published. 

"  We  commend  it  to  all  who  desire  to  present  a  friend  with  a  volume  not  only  very  beautiful,  bnt 
of  solid  intrinsic  value." — Washington  Union. 

"A  perfect  treasury  of  the  thoughts  and  fancies  of  the  best  English  and  American  Poets.  The 
paper  and  printing  are  beautiful,  and  the  binding  rich,  elegant,  and  substantial;  the  most  sensible 
and  attractive  of  all  the  elegant  gift-books  we  have  seen."  —  Evening  Bulletin. 

"  The  publishers  deserve  the  thanks  of  the  public  for  so  happy  a  thought,  so  well  executed.  The 
engravings  are  by  the  best  artists,  and  the  other  portions  of  the  work  correspond  in  elegance."  — 
Public  Ledger. 

"There  is  no  book  of  selections  so  diversified  and  appropriate  within  our  knowledge."— Pernisylv'n. 

"It  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  as  well  as  elegant  books  ever  published  in  this  country."—  Godey"* 
tody's  Book. 

"  It  is  the  most  beautifu,  and  the  most  useful  offering  ever  bestowed  on  th»  public.  No  individual 
of  literary  taste  will  venture  tu  be  without  it."—  The  City  Item 

15 


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THE  YOUNG  DOMINICAN; 
OB,  THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  INQUISITION, 

AND  OTHER  SECRET  SOCIETIES  OF  SPAIN. 
BY  M.  V.  DE  FEREAL. 

WITH  HISTORICAL  NOTES,   BY  M,  MANUEL  DE  CUENDIAS 

TRANSLATED    FROM    THE    FRENCH. 

ILLUSTRATED  WITH  TWENTY  SPLENDID  ENGRAVINGS  BY  FRENCH  ARTISTS 
One  volume,  octavo. 

SAY'S  POLITICAL  ECONOMY, 


A  TREATISE  ON  POLITICAL  ECONOMY; 
Or,  The  Production,  Distribution  and  Consumption  of  Wealth. 

BY  JEAN   BAPTISTS   SJLTT. 

FIFTH  AMERICAN   EDITION,  TTITn   ADDITIONAL   NOTES, 
BY  C.   C.    BIDDLE,   ESQ. 

In  one  volume,  octavo. 

It  would  be  beneficial  to  our  country  if  all  those  who  are  aspiring  to  office,  were  required  by  then 
constituents  to  be  familiar  with  the  pages  of  Say. 

The  distinguished  biographer  of  the  author,  in  noticing  this  work,  observes :  "  Happily  for  science 
he  commenced  that  study  which  forms  the  basis  of  his  admirable  Treat  ise  on  Political  Economy ;  a 
work  which  not  only  improved  under  his  hand  with  every  successive  edition,  but  has  been  translated 
into  most  of  the  European  languages." 

The  Editor  of  the  North  American  Review,  speaking  of  Say,  observes,  that  "  he  is  the  raoit 
popular,  and  perhaps  the  most  able  writer  on  Political  Economy,  since  the  lime  of  Smith." 

LAURENCE  STERNE'S  WORKS, 

WITH  A  LIFE  OF  THE  AUTHOR: 

WRITTEN    BY    HIMSELF. 

WITH  SEVEN  BEAUTIFUL  ILLUSTRATIONS,   ENGRAVED  BY  GILBERT  AND  GIHON, 
FROM  DESIGNS  BY  DAKLEY. 

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To  commend  or  to  criticise  Sterne's  Works,  in  this  ag*e  of  the  world,  would  be  all  "  wasteful  and 
extravagant  excess,"  Uncle  Toby  —  Corporal  Trim  —  the  Widow  —  Le  Fevre  — Poor  Maria— the 
Captive  — even  the  Dead  Ass,  —  this  is  all  we  have  to  say  of  Sterne;  and  in  the  memory  of  these 
characters,  histories,  and  sketches,  a  thousand  follies  and  worse  than  follies  are  forgotten.  The 
volume  is  a  very  handsome  one. 

THE  MEXICAN  WAR  AND  ITS  HEROES, 

A  COMPLETE  BBHHff  Oflffl  MEXICAN  WAK, 

EMBRACING  ALL  THE  OPERATIONS   UNDER  GENERALS   TAYLOR  AND  SCOTT. 

WITH  A  BIOG-HAPHZ  OP  THE  OFFICERS. 

ALSO, 

AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CALIFORNIA  AND  NEW  MEXICO, 

t'nder  Gen.  Keamy,  Cols.  Doniphan  and  Fremont.    Together  with  Numerous  Anecdotes  of  th« 

War,  and  Personal  Adventures  of  the  Officers.    Illustrated  with  Accurate 

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lades, &c.  ic.  Air.    Together  with  various  Miscellaneous  Recipes, 
and  numerous  Preparations  for  Invalids. 

BY  MRS.   BLISS. 
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3Bmjjant ;  or,  €\)i  iQpttnma  /alto. 

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AUTHOR  OF  "WILD  WESTERN  SCENES,"  "THE  WESTERN  MERCHANT,"  Ac. 

ILLUSTRATED  WITH  TEN   ENGRAVINGS. 

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AND  WAYS  OF  THE  PEOPLE,  &c. 

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(.ATE  ACTING  SURGEON  OF  REGIMENT  OF  MARINES. 

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MONEY-BAGS  AND  TITLES : 

A  HIT  AT  THE  FOLLIES  OF  THE  AGE. 

TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  FRENCH  OP  JULES  BANDEAU. 

BY  LEONARD   MYERS. 

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"  'Money-Bays  and  Titles'  is  quite  a  remarkable  work,  amounts  to  a  kindly  exposure  of  the  folly 
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the  impostures  practised  by  a  set  of  self-styled  reformers,  who  have  nothing  to  lose,  and  to  whom 
change  must  be  gain  —  if,  in  short,  a  delineation  of  the  mistaken  ideas  which  prevent,  and  the 
means  which  conduce  to  happiness.be  traits  deserving  of  commendation, — the  reader  will  find 
much  In  eulist  his  attention  and  win  his  approbation  in  the  pages  of  this  unpretending,  but  truly 
meritorious  publication." 

WHAT  IS  CHURCH  HISTORY? 

AVINDICATION  OF  THE  IDEA  OF  HISTORICAL  DEVELOPMENTS, 

BY  PHILIP   SCHAF. 

TRANSLATED    FROM    THE    GERMAN. 
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17 


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DODD'S  LECTURES. 
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CHAPLAIN   IN   ORDINARY    TO   HIS   MAJESTY    GEORGE   THK  THIRD. 

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THE  IRIS: 

AN  ORIGINAL  SOUYENIR. 
With  Contributions  from  the  First  Writers  in  the  Country. 

EDITED  BY  PROF.  JOHN   S.   HART. 

With  Splendid  flliuninations  and  Steel  Engravings.  .  Bound  in  Turkey  Morocco  and  rich  Papier 

Macho  Binding. 

IN    ONE   VOLUME,    OCTAVO. 

IU  contents  are  entirely  original.  Among  the  contributors  are  names  well  known  in  the  republic 
of  letters  ;  such  as  Mr.  Boker,  Mr.  Stoddard,  Prof.  Modal,  Edith  Hay,  Mrs.  Sigourney,  Caroline  May, 
Mrs.  Kinney,  Mrs.  Butler,  Mrs.  Pease,  Mrs.  Swift,  Mr.  Van  Bibber,  Rev.  Charles  T.  Brooks,  Mr*. 
Dorr,  Erastus  W.  Ellsworth,  Miss  E.  W.  Banies,  Mrs.  Williams,  Mary  Young,  Dr.  Gardette,  Alic« 
Carey,  Phebe  Carey,  Augusta  Browne,  Hamilton  Browne,  Caroline  Eustis,  Margaret  Junkin,  Maria 
J.  B.  Browne,  Miss  Starr,  Mrs.  Brotherson,  Kate  Campbell,  &c. 


from  tjp  Increit  Mine; 


OR,  HOLY  THOUGHTS  UPON  SACRED  SUBJECTS. 

BY  CLERGYMEN  OP  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

EDITED  BY  THOMAS  WYATT,  A.M. 

In  one  volume,  12mo. 

WITH  SEVEN  BEAUTIFUL  STEEL  ENGRAVINGS. 

The  contenls  of  this  work  are  chiefly  by  clergymen  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  Among  the  con- 
tributors will  be  found  the  names  of  Hie  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Potter,  Bishop  Hopkins,  Bishop  Smith, 
Bishop  Johns,  and  Bishop  Doane  ;  and  the  Rev.  Drs.  H.  V.  D.  Johns,  Coleman,  and  Butler  ;  Rev.  G. 
T.  Bedell,  M'Cabe,  Ogilsby,  <te.  The  illustrations  are  rich  and  exquisitely  wrought  engravings  npon 
Lie  following  subjects:  —  "Samuel  before  Eli,"  "Peter  and  John  healing  the  Lame  Man,"  "The 
Resurrection  of  Christ,"  "Joseph  sold  by  his  Brethren,"  "The  Tables  of  the  Law."  "  Christ'! 
Agony  in  the  Garden,"  and  "The  Flight  into  Egypt."  These  subjects,  with  many  others  in  prose 
and  verse,  are  ably  treated  throughout  the  work. 

HAW-HO-NOO; 

OB,  THE  RECORDS  OF  A  TOURIST. 

BY  CHARLES  LANMAN, 

Author  of  "  A  Summer  in  the  Wilderness,"  Sec.  In  one  volume,  12mo. 
*  In  the  present  book,  'Haw-tio-noo,'  (an  Indian  name,  by  the  way,  for  America.)  the  author  has 
gathered  up  some  of  the  relics  of  his  former  tours,  and  added  to  them  other  interesting  matter.  11 
contains  a  number  of  carefully  written  and  instructive  articles  upon  the  various  kinds  of  fish  in  ovt 
country,  whose  capture  affords  sport  for  anglers  ;  reminiscences  of  unique  incidents,  manners,  and 
customs  in  different  parts  of  the  country  ;  and  other  articles,  narrative,  descriptive,  and  sentimental. 
In  a  supplement  are  gathered  many  curious  Indian  legends.  They  are  related  with  great  simplicity 
and  clearness,  and  will  be  of  service  hereafter  lo  the  poem-makers  of  America,  Many  of  tlkem  art 
quit*  beautiful,"  —  National  Intelligencer. 

18 


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LONZ  POWERS;  Or,  The  Regulators. 
A  ROMANCE  OF  KENTUCKY. 

FOUNDED    ON   FACTS. 

BY  JAMES  WEIR,  ESQ. 

IN  TWO  VOLUMES. 

The  scenes,  characters,  and  incidents  in  these  volumes  have  been  copied  from  nature,  and  from 
real  Ufa.  They  are  represented  ai  taking  place  at  that  period  in  the  history  of  Kentucky,  when 
the  Indian,  driven,  after  many  a  hard-fought  field,  from  his  favourite  hunting-ground,  was  succeeded 
by  a  rude  and  unlettered  population,  intersi>ersed  with  organized  bands  of  desperadoes,  scarcely 
less  savaea  than  the  red  men  they  had  displaced.  The  author  possesses  a  vigorous  and  graphic 
pen,  and  has  produced  a  very  interesting  romance,  which  gives  us  a  stoking  portrait  of  the  time* 
he  describes. 

THE  WESTERN  MERCHANT, 

A  NARRATIVE, 

Containing  uwful  Instruction  for  the  Western  Man  of  Business,  who  makes  his  Purchases  in  UM 
Ka.»t.    Also,  Information  for  the  Eastern  Man,  whose  Customers  are  in  the  West. 
Likewise,  Hmls  for  those  who  design  emigrating  to  the  West.     De- 
duced from  actual  experience. 

BY  LUKE  SHORTFIELD,  A  WESTERN  MERCHANT. 

One  volume,    12nio. 

This  is  a  new  work,  anil  will  be  found  very  interesting  to  the  Country  Merchant,  <tc.  Ac. 
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BJSS,  Love,  ami  Religion  are  all  discussed,  and  many  proper  sentiments  expressed  in  regard  to  each. 
The  "  moral"  of  the  work  is  summed  up  in  the  following  concluding  sentences :  "  Adhere  stead- 
fastly to  your  business  ;  adhere  steadfastly  to  your  first  love ;  adhere  steadfastly  to  the  church." 

A  MANUAL  OF  POLITENESS, 

COMPRISING  TUB 

PRINCIPLES  OF  ETIQUETTE  AND  RULES  OF  BEHAVIOUR 

IN  GEN-TEEL  SOCIETY,  FOR  PERSONS  OP  BOTH  SEXES. 

18mo.,  -with  Plates. 

Book  of  Politeness. 

THE  GENTLEMAN  AND  LADY'S 

BOOK  OF  POLITENESS  AND  PROPRIETY  OF  DEPORTMENT 

DEDICATED  TO  THE  YOUTH  OF  BOTH  SEXES. 

BY  MADAME  CELNART. 

Translated  from  the  Sixth  Paris  Edition,  Enlarged  and  Improved. 
Fifth    American    Kdition. 

One  volume,  18mo. 

THE  ANTEDILUVIANS;  Or,  The  World  Destroyed. 

A   NARRATIVE   POEM,    IN  TEN   BOOKS. 

BY  JAMES   M'HENRT,    M.D. 

One  volume,  18mo 

19 


LIPPINCOTT,  GRA.MBO  &  CO.'S  TUBLICATIONS. 

Bennett's  (Rev.  John)  Letters  to  a  Young  Lady, 

ON  A  VARIETY  OF  SUBJECTS   CALCULATED  TO  IMPROVE  THE  HEART, 
TO  FORM  THE  MANNERS,  AND  ENLIGHTEN  THE  UNDERSTANDING. 

"  That  our  daughters  may  be  as  polished  comers  of  the  temple." 
The  publishers  sincerely  hope  (for  the  happiness  of  mankind)  that  a  copy  of  this  valuable  litll* 

work  will  be  found  the  companion  of  every  young  lady,  as  much  of  the  happiness  of  every  family 

depends  on  the  proper  cultivation  of  the  female  mind. 

THE  DAUGHTER'S  OWN  BOOK: 

OR,  PRACTICAL  HIM  FROM  A  FATHER  TO  HIS  DAUGHTER. 

One  volume,  18mo. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  practical  and  truly  valuable  treatises  on  the  culture  and  discipline  of  the 
female  mind,  which  has  liitherto  been  published  in  this  country ;  and  the  publishers  are  very  confi- 
dent, from  the  great  demand  for  this  invaluable  little  work,  that  ere  long  it  will  be  found  in  the 
library  of  every  young  lady. 

THE  AMERICAN  CHESTERFIELD! 

Or,  "Youth's  Guide  to  the  Way  to  Wealth,  Honour,  and  Distinction,"  fe.   18mo. 

CONTAINING  ALSO  A  COMPLETE  TREATISE  ON  THE  ART  OF  CARTING. 

" We  most  cordially  recommend  the  American  Chesterfield  to  general  attention;  but  to  young 
persons  particularly,  as  one  of  the  best  works  of  the  kind  that  has  ever  been  published  in  ting 
country.  It  cannot  be  too  highly  appreciated,  nor  its  perusal  be  unproductive  of  satisfaction  end 
usefulness." 

SENECA'S   MORALS. 

BY  WAY  OF  ABSTRACT  TO  WHICH  IS  ADDED,  A  DISCOURSE  UNDER 
THE  TITLE  OF  AN  AFTER-THOUGHT. 

BY    SIR    ROGER    L'ESTRANGE,    KNT. 

A  new,  fine  edition ;  one  volume,  ISmo. 
A  copy  of  this  valuable  little  work  should  be  found  in  every  family  library. 

*^/\/W\/\>\/WN/S^/\^^/\^/^WV\^N>\^^VV^^^/ 

NEW  SONG-BOOK, 


antern  tmi)  Astern  longstcr; 


BEING  A  CHOICE  COLLECTION  OF  THE  MOST  FASHIONABLE  SONGS,  MANY  OF  WHICH 
ARE  ORIGINAL. 

In  one  volume,  18mo. 

Great  care  was  taken,  in  the  selection,  to  admit  no  son;  that  contained,  in  the  slightest  degree, 
my  indelicate  or  improper  allusions;  and  with  great  propriety  it  mnj  claim  the  title  of  "  The  Par- 
lour Song-Book,  or  Songster."    The  immortal  Shakspeare  observe*  — 
"The  man  that  hath  not  music  in  himself, 
Nor  is  not  moved  with  concord  of  sweet  sounds, 
Is  fit  for  treasons,  stratagems,  and  spoils." 

ROBOTHAM'S  POCKET  FRENCH  DICTIONARY, 


CAREFULLY   REVISED 


AND  THE  PRONUNCIATION  OF  ALL  THE  DTFFrrPLT  WORDS  ADDED 

20 


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THE  LIFE  AND  OPINIONS  OF  TRISTRAM  SHANDY,  GENTLEMAN. 

COMPR1SINO   TUB   HUMOROUS    ADVENTCRE3   Of 

UNCLE  TOBY  AND  CORPORAL   TRIM. 

BTT  Zi.  STBHNB. 
Beautifully  111 u titrated  by  Darley.    Stitched. 

A  SENTIMENTAL  JOURNEY. 

BY   L.    STERNE. 

Illustrated  as  above  l>y  Darlcy.     Stitched. 

The  beauties  of  this  author  are  so  well  known,  and  his  errors  in  style  and  expression  so  few  and 
5w  between,  that  one  reads  with  renewed  delight  his  delicate  turns,  &c. 

THE  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON, 

WITII  A  LIKENESS  OF  THE  OLD  HERO. 
One  volume,  ISmo. 

LIFE   OF    PAUL    JONES. 

In  one  volume,  12mo. 
WITH   ONE    HUNDRED  ILLUSTRATIONS 

BY  JAMES  HAMILTON. 

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his  services  in  the  American  Revolution,  and  in  the  war  between  the  Russians  and  Turks  in  the 
Black  Sea,  There  is  scarcely  any  Naval  Hero,  of  any  use,  who  combined  in  his  character  so  much 
of  the  adventurous,  skilful  and  daring,  as  Paul  Jones.  The  incidents  of  his  life  are  almost  as  start 
lin?  and  absorbing  as  those  of  romance.  His  achievements  during  the  American  Revolution— the 
fight  between  the  Bon  Homnie  Richard  and  Serapis,  the  most  desperate  naval  action  on  record  — 
and  the  alarm  into  which,  with  so  small  a  force,  he  threw  the  coasts  of  England  and  Scotland  —  are 
matters  comparatively  well  known  to  Americans ;  but  the  incidents  of  his  subsequent  career  have 
been  veiled  in  obscurity,  which  is  dissipated  by  this  biography.  A  book  like  this,  narrating  th« 
actions  of  such  a  man,  ought  to  meet  with  an  extensive  sale,  aod  become  as  popular  as  Robinson 
Crusoe  in  fiction,  or  Weems'i  Life  of  Marion  and  Washington,  and  similar  books,  in  fact.  It  con- 
tains 400  pages,  has  a  handsome  portrait  and  medallion  likeness  of  Jones,  and  is  illustrated  with 
numerous  original  wood  engravings  of  naval  scenes  and  distinguished  men  with  whom  he  wai 
familiar. 

THE  GREEK  EXILE; 

Or,  A  Narrative  of  the  Captivity  and  Escape  of  Christoptioras  Plato  Castanis, 

DURING   THE    MASSACRE   ON   THE   ISLAND   OF   SCIO   BY  THE  TURKS 
TOGETHER  WITH  VARIOUS  ADVENTURES  IN  GREECE  AND  AMERICA. 

WRITTEN    BY    HIMSELF, 

Author  of  an  Essay  on  the  Ancient  and  Modem  Greek  Languages ;  Interpretation  of  ths  Attribute! 

of  the  Principal  Fabulous  Deities ;  The  Jewish  Maiden  of  Scio's  Citadel;  and 

the  Greek  Boy  in  the  Sunday-SchooL 

One  volume,  12mo. 

THE  YOUNG  CHORISTER; 

I  Collection  of  New  and  Beautiful  Tunes,  adapted  to  the  use  of  Sabbath-Schools,  from  some  of  tfi» 
most  distinguished  composers  ;  together  with  man)'  of  the  author's  compositions. 

EDITED  BY  MINAUD  W.  WILSON. 
21 


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CAMP  LIFE  OF  A  VOLUNTEER, 

A  Campaign  in  Mexico;  Or,  A  Glimpse  at  Life  in  Camp. 

BY  "ONE  WHO  HAS  SEEN  THE  ELEPHANT." 


JL\ii  of  6nurnl  ^adjnrtj  Cnqlor, 


COMPRISING   A    NARRATIVE   OF   EVENTS   CONNECTED   WITH    HIS   PROFESSIONAL 
CAREEH,  AND  AUTHENTIC  INCIDENTS  OF  HIS  EARLY  YEARS. 

BY  J.  REESE  FRY  AND  R.  T.  CONRAD. 

With  an  original  and  accurate  Portrait,  and  eleven  elegant  Illustrations,  by  Barley, 
111  one  handsome  12am.  volume. 

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—Richmond  (  Whig)  Chronicle. 

"  On  the  whole,  we  are  satisfied  that  this  volume  is  the  must  correct  and  comprehensive  one  yet 
published."  —  hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine. 

"The  superiority  of  this  edition  over  the  ephemeral  publications  of  the  day  consists  in  fuller  and 
more  authentic  accounts  of  Ins  family,  his  early  life,  ami  Indian  wars.  The  narrative  of  his  pro- 
ceedings in  Mexico  is  drawn  partly  from  reliable  pnvate  letters,  but  chiciiy  froui  his  own  official 
correspondence." 

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side of  every  family  who  desire  a  faithful  and  true  life  of  the  Old  General." 

GENERAL  TAYLOR  AND  HIS  STAFF! 

Comprising  Memoirs-  of  Generals  Taylor,  Worth,  Wool,  and  Butler;  Cols.  May,  Cross,  Clay,  Hardin, 

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Army.    Interspersed  with 

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»jid  Personal  Adventures  of  the  Officers.    Compiled  from  Public  Documents  and  Privats  Corre- 
spondence.   With 

ACCURATE  PORTRAITS,  AND  OTHER  BEAUTIFUL  ILLUSTRATIONS, 
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Patterson,  and  Pierce;  Cols.  Childs,  Riley,  Hnrney,  and  ButUr;  and  other 

distinguished  officers  attached  to  General  Scott's  Army. 

TOT.ETHER    WITH 

Notices  of  General  Kearny,  Col.  Doniphan,  Col.  Fremont,  and  other  officers  distinguished  in  the 
Conquest  of  California  and  New  Mexico ;  and  Personal  Adventures  of  the  Officers.    Com- 
piled from  Public  Documents  and  Private  Correspondence.     With 

ACCURATE  PORTRAITS,  AND  OTHER    BEAUTIFUL.    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
In  one  volume,  12mo. 


THE  FAMILY  DENTIST, 

INCLUDING  THE  SURGICAL,  MEDICAL  AND  MECHANICAL  TREATMENT 

OF  THE  TEETH. 
Illustrated  vrltH   tlilrt  y-onc   En-jravings. 

By  CHARLES  A.  DU  BOUCHET,  M.  D.,  Dental  Surgeon. 

In  one  volume,  18mo. 

22 


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MECHANICS  FOR  THE  MILLWRIGHT,  ENGINEER  AND  MACHINIST, 
CIVIL  ENGINEER,  AND  ARCHITECT: 

CONTAINING 

THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  MECHANICS  APPLIED  TO  MACHINERY 

Of  American  models,  Steam-Engines,  Water-Works,  Navigation,  Bridge-builfling,  &c.  4c.    B» 

FREDERICK   OVERMAN, 
Author  of  "The  Manufacture  of  Iron,"  and  other  scientific  treatises. 

Illustrated  by  150  Engravings.     In  one  large  12mo.  volume. 

WILLIAMS'S  TRAVELLER'S  AND  TOURIST'S  GUIDE 

i 

Through  the  United  States,  Canada,  &c. 

This  book  will  be  found  replete  with  information,  not  only  to  the  traveller,  but  likewise  to  th« 
man  of  business.  In  its  preparation,  an  entirely  new  plan  has  been  adopted,  which,  we  are  con- 
vinced, needs  only  a  trial  to  be  fully  appreciated. 

Among  its  many  valuable  features,  are  tables  showing  at  a  glanco  the  distance,  fart,  and  tint 
occupied  in  travelling  from  the  principal  cities  to  the  most  imixirtant  places  in  the  Union ;  so  tha^ 
the  question  frequently  asked,  without  obtaining  a  satisfactory  reply,  is  here  answered  in  flit. 
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ducting business  in  ail  secular  meetings,  and  also  in  all  religious,  political,  and 
Legislative  Assemblies, 

BY  JOSEPH  BARTLETT  BURLEIGH,  LL.  D. 
In  one  volume,  12mo. 

This  is  considered  by  our  Judges  and  Congressmen  as  decidedly  the  best  work  of  the  kind  extant. 
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THE  INITIALS;  A  Story  of  Modern  Life. 

THREE  VOLUMES  OF  THE  LONDON  EDITION  COMPLETE  IN  ONE  VOLUME  12MO. 
A  new  novel,  equal  to  "Jane  Eyre." 

WILD  WESTERN  SCENES! 

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Wherein  the  Exploits  of  Danipl  Boone,  the  Great  American  Pioneer,  are  particularly  descrilwd 

Also,  Minute  Accounts  of  Bear,  Deer,  and  Buffalo  Hunts  —  Desperate  Conflicts  with  the 

Savages—  Fishing  and  Fowling  Adventures  —  Encounters  with  Serpents,  <fec. 

By  LUKE  SHOUTFIELD,  Author  of  "The  Western  Merchant" 

BEAUTIFULLY  ILLUSTRATED.    One  volume,  12mo. 

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fur  l!rs  mirk.     ISmo 

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BT  THOMAS  BALDWIN. 

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NINTH   EDITION,  WITH   A   SUPPLEMENT, 

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Sirtlirir'0  ICtlmmj  for  tjje 

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a  SEED-TIME  AND  HARVEST;  OK,  WHATSOEVER  A  MAN  SOWETH  THAT  SHALL  HE 

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